Life Left To Go
by SarcasticEnigma
Summary: "You choose to live this life, you take the consequences." FBI Special Agent Evelyn Trudeau was partnered with LAPD Officer Brian O'Connor in 2004 and her life has never been the same since. HAN/OC! AU TF&TF-F&F:7!
1. Chapter 1: The Fast & The Furious

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

Just wanted to say that I've had this idea in my head since I saw the first movie ten years ago (yeah, it's been that long!) but, seeing as I was twelve at the time, it was before I started writing fanfiction so the idea just sat around in my head. _2 Fast 2 Furious_ didn't really inspire me at all but _Tokyo Drift_? Hell yeah, it did! Besides, I kinda have a thing for Asians – my boyfriend, for example, is Chinese – and Sung Kang is one hot man lol

Anyway, I didn't want to write a fic about another racer apart of Dom's crew or a sister-fic or a supreme female racer comes out of nowhere, like so many fics here. I wanted to do something different and, since Han is my main man of this series of films (there's gonna be another one after _Fast Five_, the for sure final one, if y'all didn't know!), this is a Han/OC. I've read so many bad Han/OCs or fics that say Han/OCs and end up being OC/Someone-whose-not-Han – and it's really starting to annoy – that I can guarantee you readers that this pairing isn't going to change.

I've been working on this for a little over two months and hope to have _Fast & Furious_ out by the time _Fast Five_ comes out. Because Han is my main man, that part in the most recent trailer of _Fast Five_ where he's making out with some girl while driving? Not gonna happen! Unless it's my OC, of course lol Also, this will go into _Tokyo Drift_ and, if he's in the sixth movie, it'll include that one as well. Hopefully, it's another prequel because we all need Han in our lives. We'll just have to wait and see. So here's my fic, hope you like.

_**Life Left To Go**_

**Chapter 1**

"Special Agent Trudeau, would you care to explain what the _hell_ happened?"

Leaning back against the hospital wall, Eve tried to think of a way to describe the pure and utter cluster fuck that was her most recent mission. She'd known that teaming up with the LAPD was a bad decision from the start. LAPD had a reputation all its own and, needless to say, it wasn't a very good one. Eve was FBI, elite, one of the best of the best; she didn't want to team up with, hands down, the worst police force in the entire country. However, given her background before becoming a decorated officer, she didn't have any choice but to take the assignment. Not to mention, undercover work, especially in the street racing scene, was her specialty. Her hands were tied. Well, that and the fact that there was only a short amount of time to find those responsible for the thefts before the truckers would take matters into their own hands.

The assignment: perpetrate and stop a string of high-speed, semi-trailer truck hijackings. Over six million dollars in merchandise stolen, presumably by a gang of street racers. The only lead both departments had was that the hijackers were driving back Honda Civics with green neon under glow. Her partner: Officer Brian O'Connor, he was the perpetrator while she would run interference and remain in the background, provide back-up if needed. Both of them were set up with new identities and backgrounds. Officer O'Conner became Brian Earl Spilner and Special Agent Trudeau became Evelyn Marie Spilner. Only reason they were made siblings instead of just friends was because they looked so much alike, and because siblings were easier to pull off as believable since the two of them were going to be living together. With their new histories, which weren't hard to make up due to their extensive knowledge of cars, both got cover jobs at The Racer's Edge, owned by Harry, an aftermarket parts shop, and known affiliation to all the local street racers. Harry was told what was going on and was paid for his silence regarding his two newest employees' involvement in the case.

Eve sighed and leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. Staring her superior dead in the eye, she said, "Basically, it went like this…"

* * *

After three weeks at the shop, gathering intel, listening with an open ear and waiting for the right opportunity, her partner finally decided it was time to make his presence known at the racers. Driving a bright neon green modified 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T, commandeered by the FBI at an illegal street racing ring in Atlanta, the two rolled into the races one night. She knew that he wasn't ready to race; she'd seen him practicing in it plenty of times. She would always tell him he wasn't ready, that they should wait longer, and he would just reply "I know what I'm doing, Eve". If he really knew what he was doing, then he wouldn't have kept going back to Toretto's to see that girl, Mia. That was really where all the trouble started. She remembered waiting in the ugly ass red truck for Harry's shop as Brian got some lunch. One minute, she was flipping through a magazine about the latest designs out of Japan, munching on a mini-bag of Chex Mix; the next, she hopping out and watching Brian getting his ass kicked.

Walking around the front of the truck, Eve sighed in boredom and leaned against the left side of the hood. The big guy, Vince was his name, was giving Brian quite the beating but her partner was at least getting some good hits in. She shook her head, watching the scuffle in annoyance and continued to munch on her bag of chips, calling out to Brian that he needed to keep his left up. Basic boxing technique, keep your left up, if you were right handed that is, to protect your face. The two eventually went to the ground, Brian on top of Vince. He actually got a good hit in until he was pulled off by one of their main suspects, Dominic Toretto, and thrown back.

"Hey, man, he was in my face!" Brian explained defensively, hands up in the air.

"_I'm_ in your face," Dom replied. Before he could say anything else, he had to hold off Vince, who tried to come back at Brian. "Relax! Don't push it! You embarrass me!" he shouted and Leon, another known racer on Toretto's team, pushed Vince back into the garage. "Jesse, gimme the wallet." From the information Eve had gathered, Jesse was the second youngest of the group – second only to Mia – and the brains of everyone. But he was also a loyal little dog, did whatever Dom asked of him and, just as order, he grabbed Brian's wallet and chucked it to Dom. ""Brian Earl Spilner", sounds like a serial killer name. Is that what you are?"

"No, man."

"Don't come around here again," he warned. Dom passed him back his wallet and walked back to his crew.

"You had enough fun for the day?" Eve asked Brian, picking up the truck's keys from the ground.

"Hey, man! You know this is bullshit!" Brian called after Dom. Eve sighed and shook her head, eyes closed.

"Guess not," she mumbled, as Dom came storming back to them.

"You work for Harry, right?"

"Yeah, I just started."

"You were just fired." Dom left them for good then and Brian sighed, watching the team disperse.

""I know what I'm doing, Eve". "Don't worry, Eve"," she said, reciting Brian's earlier words, the same ones she'd been hearing for the past three weeks. Every time he came to Toretto's and she told him he was just asking for trouble.

Brian turned around to face her, "Shut up, Eve."

""Shut up, Eve"," she mocked, no hint of a smile on her face. Dead serious, that's how she always was. "Get your ass in the car, Barstow." Brian reached to take the keys from her but she pulled them back. "I'm driving." Scoffing, Brian stormed over to the passenger seat and slammed the door closed. Looking at Toretto's, she saw Dom watching them very carefully. Eve didn't do anything, just popped another chip in her mouth and turned away to hop in the driver's seat. As she started the truck, she looked at Brian, who was stewing in his seat. Shaking her head, she stated, "Men, you're always getting in trouble over some woman."

"Any guys ever get in trouble over you?" he asked bitterly, not really caring to hear her answer.

Eve started the car and replied, "Nope, I was a good girl. And you know what they say about good girls?"

"They always swallow?" Eve looked at Brian as she sped back to the shop. He was smirking, quite amused with himself.

"You're a pervert, you know that? You got serious problems." The second she swerved around the corner and parked the truck, she added, "That's why you'll never get close to Mia; Toretto's got that big brother sixth sense about guys like you."

"Bitch," he toned and stormed into the shop.

"Pussy," she called after him. As they walked in, only a few customers were milling about and Harry was on the phone. One guess who.

"Dominic, I owe you!" Harry said, hanging up the phone as the two went into the back room. Harry was close behind them. "Brian, you're messing with my business! When Dominic drives, he's golden! Kids pour in here, they want everything he has, every performance part, and they pay CASH!" His words seemed to fall on deaf ears because Brian just went to the sink in back, taking a drink straight from the faucet.

"Am I fired, too?" Eve asked, not that she really cared.

"No, you're fine. Dominic didn't even mention you." Brian turned to look at both of them, glaring at Eve as she smirked triumphantly, before turning back to the water and washing himself up.

"See what happens when you fuck around like that, Barstow?" she questioned smugly.

"You just wanna work this by yourself," he griped at her. Eve just nodded, letting him know full well that's exactly what she wanted. He ignored her, however, and turned back to Harry. "What did Dominic say?"

Harry shook his head, "You don't wanna know."

"What did Dominic say?"

"He wants 'ya outta here!"

"He wants me outta here?"

"Is there an echo in here? He just said that, numb nuts," Eve answered.

"For once in your miserable life, just shut the fuck up, Eve!" Rolling her eyes, she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, muttering under her breath about how he was just a big baby. Brian was certain he heard her call him a 'pussy' again. It was their routine. Looking at Harry, he asked once more, "He wants me outta here?"

"Yes!"

"And what did you say to Dom?" After wiping off his face with his shirt, Brian stripped it off for a clean one.

"What do you think I said? I told him good help is hard to find." Harry ran a hand through his hair, thoroughly stressed.

"Hey, relax," Brian said, a hand on his shoulder. For all the good it did.

"Don't worry so much, Harry. It's not like Dominic's the Godfather; he's not going to hire someone to take you out if you don't fire the screw up here." Harry nodded frantically while Eve shook her head. He really was a nervous man. Both of them heard Brian say, "I need NOS. I need NOS" before he ran out of the back room. "Brian, no!" she shouted, following him.

"My car topped out at 140 MPH this morning," he told her.

"Amateurs don't use Nitrous Oxide!" Harry stated, getting in Brian's path, grabbing his arm to make him stop. "I've seen you drive! You got a heavy foot!"

"That's the understatement of the century," Eve snorted behind them.

"You'll blow yourself to pieces!" Harry warned. But Brian didn't care. He stopped in front of the display of various NOS' the shop had and nodded to himself.

"I need one of these. One of the big ones." Eve shook her head and rolled open her bag of Chex Mix again. "You know what? Let's make it two. And, Harry, I need it by tonight." As Brian went to wait on some customers, Eve shared a look with Harry.

"He's gonna get himself killed!" her temporary boss exclaimed.

"Yeah, but at least it'll be fun to watch," she replied, eating another chip. "Relax, Harry, I'll be watching him," she assured him and went behind the desk to ring up a customer.

When the two of them got off work, Brian went to work on upgrading his car with the two new NOS' Harry begrudgingly provided. She didn't offer to help him, knowing that he wouldn't accept it and because she didn't want to. Brian had been causing her plenty of grief and she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he'd be causing her even more tonight. Eve, however, went to work on her own car. The 1969 Boss 302 Mustang with gorgeous, a pure piece of classic American muscle, her favorite. Tons of people like the newer cars; personally, they looked like something a kid would win out of cereal box. Sure, her car didn't have the best paint job in the world - pale yellow body, black on the hood with black stripes on the side – but it was the engine that counted. And her engine kicked ass. Eve never raced, wasn't her style; what the hell did she have to prove to these bottom feeders anyway? Absolutely nothing, that's what. But at least she knew she could get wherever she needed quickly, very quickly. Like Brian, her car was provided by her superiors, possessed from an illegal street racing scene, though this one was from Las Vegas. Still, a car was a car and, being that she was FBI and Brian wasn't, she got to pick her car. Eve was happy with her choice.

The two of them rolled up to races, parking next to each other and leaning on their cars. For Eve, the scene was nothing new; she'd seen it dozens of times before. But Brian? Eve took one look at him and shook her head, per usual. He looked like a kid in a candy store. He was taking it all in – the music, the cars, the racers, the racer chasers. Everything. She had tried to tell him to dress up a little, try to blend into the rest of the crowd, but he wouldn't have it. He wanted to be comfortable so he went as he was: sneakers, shorts, T-shirt. Eve, however, who knew how to dress to be seen as a woman and not a chaser, had on a leather pants, tucked into knee-high boots, and a smoky grey vest. She pulled and slicked back her long blonde hair into a pony tail, flowing down to the middle of her back. Eve looked at her partner and rolled her eyes. The dumb look on his face was quickly shut down as she thwacked his arm, bring him back to reality. While he had been busy ogling the party, she was busy scanning the ground. Dominic was only one suspect, one of three – the other two being Johnny Tran and some Hispanic only known as Hector – and she had been looking for the other two. Luckily enough, the latter of the two was walking their way.

"Sweet ride," Hector complimented. "What'chu running under there, man?" Brian just smiled and Hector shook his head, smiling back. "You gonna make me find out the hard way?"

"Hell yeah!"

"You're brave, you're brave," he commented, walking around the hood of the car, inspecting it. "They call me Hector. I got a last name, too but I can't pronounce it so…"

"Brian Spilner." Hector shook his hand.

"Eh, typical white boy name." Nodding to Eve, he asked, "And what's your name, mami?"

"Not mami," she retorted and Hector laughed, nodding his head at her.

"I like that, I like that."

"That's just my sister," Brian told him. That part of their cover hadn't been her idea. In fact, she'd been totally and completely against it but, because her and Brian sort of looked alike, siblings was the best thing to go with. "Don't mind her. She's a bitch to everyone." Hector laughed and the two men shook hands again while Eve rolled her eyes.

"Eve," she introduced, shoving Brian a little. "And don't mind him. Evolution missed a step." Hector 'ooh'd at that and laughed, giving her a low five. Once they calmed down, Hector pointed out his car to them, his baby, and told them he wasn't taking her out tonight. Upon being asked why, he told them he was going legit, trying to get on the N.Y.R.A. circuit. Eve stored that information away for later, a little shocked by it but refusing to let it show on her face. After all, how the hell did some no account street racer who couldn't even pronounce his last name get into the New York Racing Association?

"So why? What's up with you, man?" Hector asked, leaning on the side of the hood.

"Nothing, I'm just waiting for Toretto," Brian replied, looking out at the crowd as another racer came up to them.

"Shit, you outta get in line," he said and eyed the Eclipse. "This yours?"

"I'm standing next to it, aren't I?"

"That's funny." Clearly, from his tone, it wasn't funny at all. "You know, Edwin happens to know a few things and, one of the things Edwin knows is, it's not how you _stand_ by your car, it's how you _race_ your car. You better learn that."

"So how 'bout'chu, girl? You race?" Hector asked, nodding at Eve's car.

"When I feel like it," she retorted, making the guys laugh a little. The sound of rumbling engines interrupted whatever they were going to say next.

"Aw, shit! Here they come, it's on!" Edwin exclaimed and the crowd parted like the red sea for Dominic and his team. The crowd surrounded them when they got out of their cars, Dominic mostly. Especially the racer chaser. They quickly backed off though as Dominic's girlfriend, Leticia a.k.a. Letty walked up and scared them off. Eve smirked to herself, she could definitely respect a girl like that.

"Okay, Hector!" The Hispanic who didn't even know his last name rolled up to Dom, fist pumping.

Edwin followed, doing the same as Hector, and asked, "A'ight, how we doing this tonight?"

"One race. Two G buy-in, winner takes all. Hector, you're gonna hold the cash," Dom ordered. When a racer buying in asked why Hector would be holding all the cash, Edwin promptly joked that it was because he was too slow to make away with the cash. The crowd crowed at that, Hector laughing along with them in goodwill before glaring at his friend. "Okay, good luck, guys," Dom said, slapping some backs.

"Hey, wait! Hold up!" Brian called. Eve tried to grab his arm and stop him but he just shrugged her off. Sighing, she followed him as he pushed his way through the crowd to stand between Hector and Edwin. "I don't have any cash, but I do have the pink slip to my car."

"You can't just climb in the ring with Ali because you think you box," Jesse stated.

"He _knows_ I can box," he stated, pointing to a scowling Vince. "So, check it out, it's like this: if I lose, winner takes my car, clean and clear. But, if I win, I take the cash _and_ I take the respect." The crowd, even Dom, scoffed at him. "To some people that's more important." Eve could say whatever she wanted about Brian, but the boy did have a way with words. Clearly that had won over the crowd, some of them at least but, more importantly, it had won over Dominic.

"That your car?" he asked and, after confirming it, Toretto's team walked over to the Eclipse and popped the hood. The crowd was clearly, and appropriately, impressed.

"I see a cool air intact," Jesse began. "It's got a NOS fogger system, the T-4 turbo, Dominic. I see an AIC controller, it has direct port for Nitrous inject."

"Yeah, and a standalone fuel management system. Not a bad way to spend ten thousand dollars," Dom complimented. Edwin made a comment about the car having enough NOS to blow Brian up. Well, he wasn't wrong.

"So, what do you say, am I worthy?" Brian asked.

"I don't know," Dom said, "but you're in. Let's go."

Everyone cheered and hopped in their cars. In a flurry of activity, everyone followed Dominic's team to the race location, a select few blocking off certain parts of the road, others sitting as lookouts for the cops or to ward off pedestrians. She was pretty sure she saw at least two other drivers with police scanners, listening to chatter. Eve parked her Mustang not too far from the rest of Toretto's team, and walked over to Brian's window, leaning down just in time to hear him say he was going to win.

"I know they say confidence is key, but I don't think applies to street racing, especially when you can easily blow yourself up, not to mention a couple other people."

"Shut up, Eve."

"Just saying," she spat defensively. "You realize he's running a modified 1993 Mazda RX-7, right?" If Brian was still listening, he clearly was ignoring her, focused on the road ahead and gripping the steering wheel. Eve sighed and said, "Remember, you win, you get cash. You lose, it's your ass."

"Bitch."

"Pussy. I'll meet you at the finish line." Straightening up, she moved back to her car and did as she said, drove to the finish line to meet him.

In her rearview, she saw Hector wave his hands for the racers to go and they were all quickly off, Brian swerving a little bit. Eve shook her head, knowing that, that clearly wasn't a good sign. When she reached the finished, she parked and reached for a bag on the passenger seat before getting out and walking to the hood and sitting down, munching on her Chex Mix once more. She waited patiently, watching as Dominic pulled in into first place. Eve felt herself pushed a little, hearing people laugh at her because of Brian. She glared at them and went back to watching the road. Soon enough, Brian showed up, car smoking. Eve shook her head.

"I knew it," she mumbled and walked over to the disaster, pushing through the crowd to hear the damage. Of course, Brian was grinning like an idiot.

"Was that fun?" Jesse scolded, lifting up the hood, white smoke billowing out. The crowd laughed and 'ooh'd. Eve walked over to the hood, fanning smoke out of her face, and joining Jesse to check out the damage.

"What did I tell you?" she asked him, shaking her head.

Dominic, seeing Brian's ridiculous grin, asked him, "What are you smiling about?"

"Dude, I almost had you!" Brian crowed.

"You almost had _me_? You _never_ had me. You never had your _car_." The crowed egged Dominic on, cheering him to continue his lecture. "Granny shifting, not double clutching like you should. You're lucky that hundred shot of NOS didn't blow the welds on the in-take. Almost had _me_?" Dominic was clearly amused, so was the crowd, laughing with him at Brian. "Now me and the mad scientist gotta rip apart the block, and replace the piston rings you fried." Eve backed up as Dom got next to her, closing the hood. She looked at Brian for the first time, amid listening to all the shouts of 'get out' and sarcastic 'nice job' here and there, and clearly saw the embarrassment and shame written all over his face. Eve almost felt bad for him. Almost. "Ask any racer, any _real_ racer – it don't matter if you win by an inch or a mile – winning's winning." The crowd cheered, even louder when Dom held out his arms, like a god. Eve mentally retracted her earlier statement to Harry; maybe Dom was the Godfather.

The next thing she heard was cops and everyone scattered. While everyone else panicked, Brian included, Eve walked back to her Mustang, hopped in and took off. She drove with a couple other racers, following them, unsure of where to go – she was from Baltimore, not LA – for a safe spot. After about two minutes of being lost in a sea of racers, she spotted Toretto's girlfriend, Letty, and broke from the crowd to follow her lead. After a couple moments of following, she found herself in a residential area. Eventually, Letty slowed down in front of a house and parked. As she got out, she waved for Eve to pull up next to her. The second she did, she rolled down the passenger window and Letty leaned in.

"You screwing your friend?" she asked bluntly. Eve's face turned up in disgust.

"He's my brother," she lied easily and Letty nodded.

"You wanna screw Dom?"

Eve laughed under her breath, "Not my type, no offense."

"None taken," she replied, relaxing a little more. "So you just followed me because you wanted to get away." Eve nodded, Letty nodding back before tapping the window of the car. "Good. You ever need to hide, you can come here. Just keep your hands off my boys."

"No worries about that," Eve replied, laughing at the thought of ever getting involved with anyone in Toretto's crew. "Thanks for getting me out of there."

"No problem. You wanna come in for the party?"

Eve shook her head, "Big parties aren't really my thing. Thanks though."

"Had to ask. You be careful getting home, Arizona," Letty replied, nodding her goodbye and walked away, heading into the Toretto household.

Eve wondered for a moment how Letty knew she was "from" Arizona, but more people started showing up behind her and she decided that was her cue to leave. She figured Brian would stick around, get whatever information he could when he wasn't kissing up Dom or flirting with Mia. Besides, she was absolutely exhausted; her bed was calling her and she let her car lead her back to the house that her superiors had set up for her and Brian. The moment she fell into bed, clothes and shoes still on, she fell asleep.

P.S.: Ten pages total.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

**Chapter 2**

The next morning, Brian informed her that Dom knew about their "history". Apparently, he'd had Jesse run a profile on them, which explained how Letty knew about her being "from" Arizona. Dom was fully aware that Brian had spent two years in juvie for boosting cars, something that was actually true, and he also knew that Eve had spent some time in juvie for joyriding and grand-theft auto. Also a true story, but that was in the past, before she knew what she was meant to do with her life and that was be a cop. It was funny to Eve, still made her laugh actually, how she broke the law so much when she was a kid, never getting caught with the minor stuff like shoplifting, but she ended up being in law enforcement. While they were eating breakfast, Brian also told her that Dom confessed about having done two years in Lompoc, but she already knew that.

"I can't believe he told you that though," she commented, munching thoughtfully on some oatmeal.

"I know, right? I thought he hated me but I show up, get him away from the cops, and it was like…I don't know," he replied, shaking his head and shoveling some cereal into his mouth. Eve bit into some toast, chewing carefully, looking out the window above the sink.

"Like you'd earned his respect," she stated. Brian looked up at her, thinking about that for a moment, before nodding. Yes, it had been just like that.

"I also met the Trans," he commented lightly and Eve whipped her head around to stare at him.

She quickly asked him when and how and he explained that he had accidentally driven into southern California, into Little Saigon. Apparently, there was a grudge between Toretto and Tran – because Dom had slept with Tran's sister, Brian said – and, after a bit of talking, the Trans left only to come back and shoot up Brian's car with their submachine guns. It blew up, and then he and Dom had a twenty mile hike and cab ride back to Dom's house. Eve shook her head, holding up a hand to show him that she didn't need to hear the rest of what went on at the Toretto house.

"I told you NOS was a bad idea," she sighed and moved to clean her dishes.

"I know, I know, you were right, okay?" he sneered, huffing back in the seat of his chair.

"At least we know for sure that Tran is a front runner for the hijackings," she said, sounding optimistic for the first time of their three weeks together. "Submachine guns and crotch rockets? That shit isn't cheap."

"Look, Tran said something about seeing Dom next month. You know anything about that?"

"Only thing I can think of is Race Wars." Brian looked at her, a dumb look on his face, and she shook her head again before explaining exactly what Race Wars was. It wouldn't be her first time going to the Wars and, apparently, it wouldn't be her last.

"Dom said something else."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Brian sighed, running a hand through his hair, ignoring her disinterested tone.

"I owe him a ten-second car."

"Ouch," she laughed. "Come on, we gotta get to "work"." Brian nodded and the two dumped their dishes in the sink before heading out to her car. Since Brian didn't have one anymore, she would be playing chauffeur for quite a bit. The minute they reached Harry's, he gave them a list of parts to deliver and got in the truck to head off. They weren't even on the road ten minutes when a cop pulled them over.

"Show me your hands," came the officer's voice from a megaphone. Both did as ordered and he said, "Very good, now open the door." Again, they did as asked and stepped out slowly. "Put your hands on your head, behind your head, face the front of the vehicle, and walk backwards toward the rear." Eve looked over at Brian and saw him scowling, knowing that he was pissed about this. She had to admit, as she backed up to the other cops, she was pissed, too. "Take two steps to your right, sir. Ma'am, two steps to your left, and stop right there." Both of them waited patiently as second cop walked up, patting them both down.

"What I do?" Brian asked but the cop patting him quickly told him to shut up.

"They're clean, Sarge." Eve saw Brian's superior, Sergeant Tanner, smile and nod before both of them were handcuffed and dragged into the back seat of the car. Neither of them said anything, just waited for the drive to be over. It was, after about twenty painful minutes, when they arrived at their base of operations.

"Muse, will you take these things off?" Brian groaned as he slid out of the car, Eve right behind him. "I mean, shit, you put 'em on so tight."

"I like realism," Muse retorted jokingly.

"You never know whose watching, Brian," Tanner told him, opening the gate of the garage to go into the house.

"Wow, nice crib, Sergeant," Brian complimented, looking around at the rather expensive looking place. "It's a lot nicer than that last place you confiscated."

"Ain't it? You know, Eddie Fischer built this house for Elizabeth Taylor in the fifties," Tanner explained. Eve didn't really care but she was impressed; it was a nice fucking house.

"See?" Brian said, nudging Eve with his elbow. "Even the cops are Hollywood in Hollywood." Tanner laughed and the four entered the house where their base was set up. There was a bustle of activity. At least thirteen other cops and detectives, from the LAPD and FBI respectively, were hard at work. Some were answering phones, others checking files and facts, some were at computers and another group was at a board with pinned photos of the main suspects and their known affiliations.

"Clearly," she said dryly. "Can we get to work now?"

"Okay, here they are, fresh from Toretto's hot rod heaven," Tanner said, walking up to Eve's superior. Eve, seeing her boss, Special Agent Bilkins, took the initiate to walk ahead and shake Bilkins's hand.

"Trudeau," he greeted, smiling at her.

"Sir," she replied respectively, nodding firmly.

"That was an eighty thousand dollar vehicle, Officer," Bilkins said to Brian, looking none too pleased.

"You wanna tell him what happened?" Brian asked, looking to her and Tanner.

Tanner just said, "He knows what happened."

"Hey, you know what? Why don't you send the bill to Johnny Tran," Brian sneered and Tanner put a hand on his chest, not to subtly telling him to shut up.

"Kid's giving me attitude?" Bilkins posed to Tanner, pointedly ignoring Brian. "Doesn't speak well for police-FBI relations, Tanner."

"Come on, what is this? I walk in the door and—"

"All right, all right, all right!" Tanner exclaimed over his officer's complaints. "We'll talk, okay? We'll talk about it. Muse, why don't you make us five iced cappuccino's, please?" Tanner made sure they were decaf and the group went into a separate room to go over the details of the case again. Four hijackings in two months and both the FBI and LAPD had nothing. They knew that the DVD players and digital cameras were worth a million-two alone, which brought them to a grand total of six million dollars. Plus, they were in the political crosshairs now, which was why both Brian and Eve were undercover.

"You want that detective badge fast, kid, and you wanna know something? The FBI can help. If you come through for us," Bilkins told Brian, patting his shoulder. When the blonde looked to his temporary partner, she nodded the affirmative.

"And what does the truck driver say?" Brian asked and Tanner explained that the MO was exactly the same. Same cars, same precision driving, same neon glow underneath and the lab told them that the skid marks came back the same – Moshimoto's Z-X tires, so they knew for certain now that it was someone in the street racing world.

"We don't make this case soon, the truckers _will_ take matters into their own hands," Bilkins explained. "I tell 'em we're close. You two gonna make me a liar?"

"We're on top it, sir," Eve replied confidently, obediently.

Brian jumped in and told them, "Look, what do we know? We all know this world revolves around Toretto, right?"

"I'd say that's a fair assumption," Eve chimed in. "From the way the crowd was last night, and from what Harry told us, Dominic Toretto is the god of the street racing world. He's king, and everyone follows him. Except Tran," she added, smirking at Brian a little bit.

"Now, I'm not saying he's necessarily the one that's popping these trucks, but I can guarantee the both of you that he knows who is," Brian stated firmly. "It's just a matter of time until I win his confidence—"

Bilkins interjected, "You want time, buy the magazine. We don't have time. Just give me something I can use." Walking around to his set-up desk, Bilkins looked at Eve, who'd stood up to leave after Brian and Tanner and said, "How's he doing, Trudeau?" Eve paused and thought about it for a moment.

"Permission to speak freely?" Bilkins nodded and she took a breath. "He's got a heavy foot, a quick temper, and he's a shitty liar," she replied bluntly and shrugged. "All in all, he's the worst person you've ever partnered me with." Bilkins chuckled amusedly.

"You don't like him, I take it?"

"Not at all."

"How's Harry doing?"

"He's cooperating like a man that knows he'll do three to five for receiving stolen property if he doesn't." Bilkins laughed out right at that. "He's been helpful but he's a bundle of nerves and that's not good for us. I'm convinced that he might rat out me and O'Connor for the right price to the wrong people."

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen," he assured her and she nodded, having every confidence in her superior. "What does he think of Toretto?"

"He's scared to death of him. Like I said, bundle of nerves, but he doesn't think Toretto's the one going around jacking trucks either. And, honestly, sir?" Bilkins nodded, letting her know it was okay to voice her opinion. "I'm not sold on Toretto being the one either. He's too controlled and why would he risk his sister and crew, his entire "kingdom", to go back to jail if he was caught?" Bilkins nodded, taking her concerns in thoughtfully. "I'm not saying it's not him, but I'm not saying he is. We just need time."

"Dominic Toretto did hard time for nearly beating a man to death. That sound controlled to you?" Eve lowered her head, biting her bottom lip. No, it sure as hell didn't sound controlled. "The man has Nitrous Oxide for blood and a gas tank for a brain. Do _not_ turn your back on him."

"Yes, sir." He nodded for her to go and she left, getting outside just in time to hear Brian remind Tanner that he needed another car. Two days later, he got his wish. With a tow truck, the two of them went to Toretto's garage with a totaled 1995 Toyota Supra barely hanging on in the back.

Dom looked at the ugly mess and asked, "What the _hell_ is this? What do you got there?"

Grinning, Brian explained, "This is your car."

"My car? I said a ten-_second_ car, not a ten-_minute_ car."

"You could push this across the finish line," Jesse commented. "Or tow it." The crew, which was just Letty, Mia and Jesse, laughed as Dom said that they couldn't even tow it.

"No faith!" Brian stated.

"Oh, I have faith in you but this isn't a junk yard, this is a garage." Brian nudged Eve and she nodded, hopping up onto the back of the tow as he told her and Jesse, who she was pulling up with her, to pop the hood. After they had it unhooked and backed into the garage, Jesse popped the hood, which promptly fell to the floor, and examined just what was underneath.

"A 2-JZ engine, no shit," Jesse breathed. Bilkins and Tanner really came through on this one. Of course, Brian and Eve had to tell them what to get.

"See, what did I tell you?" Brian asked, grinning like an idiot.

"I retract my previous statement," Dom replied.

"You know what? This will decimate all _after_ you put fifteen grand in it, or more. If we have to, overnight parts from Japan," the mad scientist explained. Dom just told him to put it on his tab at Harry, to which Jesse exclaimed an excited 'yes'.

Dom pointed at Brian with a crowbar, telling him, "I gotta get you racing again so I can make some money off your ass. There's a show down in the desert called Race Wars and that's where you'll do it." Brian nodded, still grinning, as Dom walked away but he turned back soon enough. "I'll tell you what. When you're not working at Harry's, you're working here. If you can't find the right tool in _this_ garage, Mr. Arizona, you don't belong near a car." He moved the crowbar to Eve and asked, "You race, too?"

"When I feel like it," she retorted, repeating exactly what she told Hector, and crossed her arms. Dom laughed, so did Letty.

"When you feel like it," he echoed amusedly. "How about this? You want to stick with your brother, work in this garage, work on _this_ car," he said, pointing to the hunk of junk, "then you race when I say. You got that?"

Eve nodded slowly, though anger was seething inside of her, "I got that."

"Good, let's get to work, people."

* * *

It took quite a bit of time and a hell of a lot of money, which wasn't really an issue for Dom, until the car was almost racing ready. Jesse had set up the basic design for the Supra. He told them that the adjustable would save them about two pounds and give them better traction over all. He really should have been in MIT or some other place like that but he had ADD. Jesse told Brian, who told her, that he'd flunked out of school, failing everything but math. Jesse explained that there was just something about cars that calmed them down. Later that day, Dom called everyone back this place for dinner, Brian and Eve included which shocked her. She hadn't really talked to the crew or gotten to know them like Brian had. Leon flirted with her a bit, sure, but Letty would always slap him upside his head and tell him to back off because he wasn't her type. Letty was really the only one of the crew that Eve could consider herself a little bit close to. When everyone else arrived, Vince took one look at the "Spilner siblings", passed his bag of food to Leon and walked back to his car.

Dom called out, "Vince, come over here and give us a hand!"

"Looks like you got all the help you need, brotha!" he shouted back before high tailing off down the road.

Shaking his head, Dom just went about grilling the chicken, Letty by his side, while Mia prepared the salads and corn on the cob. Jesse helped her inside, Brian grabbing the Corona's. Leon, however, managed to drag Eve onto the blacktop near the home's garage for a game of basketball. She was terrible, giving Leon some good laughs. When it came time to sit down and eat, everyone gathered around the table, all the girls lined up next to each other with Brian and Jesse across them, with Dom and Leon at the ends. Jesse was the first one to reach onto the plate of chicken, to which Dom held up a hand to stop him.

"Hey, hold up, because you were the first out of everybody here to reach in to get the chicken, you say grace." Nobody except Brian and Eve were surprised to hear this. As the others crossed themselves or locked their hands, grinning at Jesse's bad luck, they watched curiously. Dominic Toretto was a religious man? That certainly was unexpected.

"Dear Heavenly…uh…"

Leon supplied, "Spirit."

"Spirit, thank you. Uh, thank you for providing us with the direct port Nitrous, uh, injection." Eve cracked a smile, barely able to hold her laughter. She saw Brian was smiling, too. "For, uh, cool air intercoolers, and ball bearing turbos, and titanium bell springs." The crew clapped and cheered him, saying their 'amen's'.

"Not bad," Dom complimented.

"Praying to the car gods, man," Letty added, smiling as the food started getting passed around.

"Well, look who it is!" Leon exclaimed and the crew saw Vince slowly walking up. "Old Coyote's 'R' Us! I thought you weren't hungry, pumpkin?"

Vince shrugged, "You know I gotta eat."

"He's always hungry," Letty added, the sneer in her voice unmistakable. Dom waved him over, telling him to sit down. Vince joined them, kissing the top of Dom's bald head as he did. When he walked around the table, he stood next to Eve for a moment, just staring at her. Annoyed, she sighed and looked up at Vince.

"There a problem?" she asked.

"Yeah, why don't you go sit next to you brother?" he returned. Letty was in the midst of telling him off, Dom trying to calm her down, when Eve stood up, standing toe-to-toe with Vince. She stared him down a minute before picking up her plate and pushing past him.

"No problem," was all she said and sat next to Brian, taking a long drag of her beer. Personally, she preferred Jack Daniels but all Dom carried was Corona so it would have to do.

"Let's eat some grub, man," Letty said, patting Vince's back. When the sun set, everyone went inside to watch some movie. Eve sat on the floor, expecting to be alone, until Jesse and Leon plopped down on either side of her. She looked at both of them before shaking her head, a small smile on her face.

"You'll never get rid of them now," Dom commented from his spot, Letty curled up in his lap.

"Just what I always wanted, grease monkey/leech hybrids," Eve droned tonelessly and Letty cracked up. When Jesse started demanding popcorn, Vince was volunteered to make it. He got up, stumbling as he went because he was a little drunk, and went into the kitchen to do so.

"So, you went to juvie for joyriding and grand theft auto?" Jesse inquired to her.

"Jesse!" Letty warned.

"No, no, it's okay," Eve told her and she looked back at Jesse. "Yeah, I did. Why?"

"Just wondering how a girl like you got into cars, that's all."

"Girl like me? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" she questioned defensively.

"He means a babe like you, girl," Leon said, not so subtly wrapping an arm around her while Jesse blushed.

"Well, you see, there was this guy and he had a really…_really_…_big_…" she said, whispering seductively to Leon. "…engine." Pulling Leon's arm off of her, she smiled at the laughs and jokes he was getting from Dom and Letty. A bang on the wall came next and they saw Vince walking back in. When Jesse asked about his popcorn, Vince blew up.

"Make your own God damn popcorn!" Curious, Eve got up and said she'd make it. When she entered the kitchen and saw Brian and Mia standing close together, she understood what had happened.

Shaking her head, she fixed the microwave to make the popcorn, and told them, "Either get a room or go outside." Brian promptly threw a rag at her.

"Bitch," he laughed at her.

"Pussy," she retorted. The minute the popcorn was done, she joined the others to watch the movie. If Brian didn't keep his head focused on the case, than she might as well be working alone, which was preferable anyway.

P.S.: Eight pages total.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

By the way, check out my profile for a link to my Photobucket account and you can see pics of Eve throughout the entire series, her cars and bikes. Yes, there will be bikes in the future!

**Chapter 3**

"Damn! What have we got here? Hired some new help, huh?"

"Don't even think about it," Eve said, nodding to Hector as he and his crew rolled into The Racer's Edge a couple days later. He was checking out the new cashier/receptionist, who was really just for show. Eve would bet her entire month's salary that she wasn't anything other than a chaser who got the job to get closer to the racers that frequented the store.

"What's up, Evie girl? Brian, how you doing?" Hector laughed, the guys first bumping as Brian joined them at the counter.

"So, what's up, man? What do you need?"

"What's up? I'm gonna need you to hook me up," the Hispanic told them bluntly. "Three of everything, I made a list." Eve took the list he pulled out of his pocket and read it over.

"When do you need it by?" she asked.

"Tomorrow, today, now," was his answer.

"Right," she drawled sarcastically, taping the information into the computer.

"Come on, white folks work fast, don't they?" he joked. Eve heard him speaking in Spanish but nudged Brian to look at the computer screen. Information on a Honda Civic showed up, the exact type of car that was being used to hijack the truckers.

"Hey," Brian said, "you said you needed three of all this stuff?"

"Yeah, three of everything. What do you think about that? Check this out." Brian and Eve looked over to see Hector leaning on the counter, a wad of cash in his hand. Harry hadn't been lying about that at all. Eve took the cash and cleared it off with Harry. The second Hector was gone, Eve pulled Brian into the back room.

"You know what this means?" she asked.

"We've got a good lead is what it means," he replied and she nodded.

"Exactly. Look, I'm gonna go to Hector's tonight, check out his garage and see if he's got the merchandise and Civics. You stay with Toretto," she ordered.

"No way, I'll go to Hector's," he stated firmly. Eve tilted her head and glared at him, hands on her hips.

"No! _I'm _the experience field agent here, _I'm_ doing it, _Officer_," she retorted, stressing his position in law enforcement just so he remembered who outranked who. "You stick with Toretto."

"Look, I want my badge, okay? Let me do this." Eve stared him down, seeing the desperation and sighed, shaking her head. "I can do it, Eve. Trust me."

She scoffed, "Trust you." Taking a breath, she pointed a finger at him and said, "Fine but you better not screw up." Brian smiled at her and she grimaced. "Don't smile at me, O'Connor. I'm letting you do this once and, just to prove how much I _trust_ you, I'm gonna let you go alone."

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me. I'm almost positive I'm making a big mistake."

"You aren't!" he assured her.

"I'm glad one of us is so certain." As Brian went to leave, she pulled him back. "I'm warning you right now, you mess this up and you won't get that badge. I guarantee it." Brian nodded, the severity of her words hitting him head on. He wasn't smiling anymore.

* * *

"What the _fuck_ do you mean you were jumped at Hector's?" Eve shouted, pacing the kitchen of Brian's house.

"It was Dom and Vince," he explained calmly, sitting at the table with a rag of ice on his head. "Vince popped me with a shotgun."

"I'm sorry if I don't care about your concussion, Brian, but we have more important shit to worry about!" she exclaimed frantically. "What the hell happened?"

"Well, I can tell you Hector has Civic's. None of them are black or have under glow lights, but they've got spoon engines. Plus the three T-66 turbos with NOS and the Mo-Tech System exhaust he ordered today." Taking a deep calming breath, Eve leaned down on the table and stared at Brian. "Vince told Dom I was a cop."

Eyes wide, she stopped her pacing and gasped, "He _what_?" Brian repeated what Vince had said and she shook her head, pacing once again. "I can't believe the shit storm you've brewed up."

"Calm down!" he shouted. "Look, he made me go to Tran's and we broke into his garage. They had Civics, too – and a lot of DVD players." Hearing that made her stop her pacing once more.

"One of the things being jacked from the trucks." He nodded and told the rest of what happened, how Tran basically tortured a guy named Ted, who had Tran's missing engines in a warehouse.

"Okay, so two of our three prime suspects have Civics, wrong color and no neons, but one of them has a lot of the merchandise listed stolen just sitting in his garage," she said to herself. "I'd say we got enough for a warrant on Tran."

"No, best we got is suspicion," he argued. "It's not enough."

"It's suspicious enough!"

"No, it's not! We need more time."

Frustrated, she ran her hands over her face. "Why are you fighting me on this? We crack this case, you get your detective badge and I get to go back to Washington. Done, it works out for everyone. So what's the deal?" Brian looked at the table, picking at invisible specks of dust. Eve narrowed her eyes; normally Brian took any opportunity to run his mouth at her. "It's Mia, isn't it?" His head shot up, confirming her suspicions. "I can't believe it. You don't want to close this case because that means you have to leave Brian Spilner, screw up street racer, behind and that includes breaking up whatever it is you've got going with Toretto's sister!"

"That's not it," he retorted.

"Bullshit!" she shouted and stood up, too disgusted to look at him. "First rule of going undercover, Brian, not to mention being a detective, is you don't get close to the targets; you don't let it get personal." Brian was ignoring her, arms crossed and staring at the table. Eve shook her head and told him, "I'm calling Bilkins, get him and Tanner to process a warrant for Tran. In the mean time," she said, sitting down across from Brian, "personal shit aside, does Toretto still trust you?" Brian looked up at her, staring her dead in the eyes, before shaking his head.

"I don't know. I think so," he answered uncertainly. Eve closed her eyes and sighed.

"This is _not_ good," she stated, running her hands through her hair. Pulling out her cell phone, she called Bilkins and, after a short conversation, she hung up. "He wants us at home base. Now."

* * *

"My superiors are flying in from DC day after tomorrow. I want something to show," Bilkins demanded, pacing the kitchen/bar area of the house. "Now, we have a top echelon fence with a lube hose in his mouth, automatic weapons, a jacket full of priors on every one of these Asian punks, a garage full of DVD players, and generally psychotic behavior. You tell me why we shouldn't move on Johnny Tran right now and see where we are when the dust settles?"

"'Cause all we have is behavior," Brian argued calmly. "Just let me get some hard evidence because what we have_ now_ is circumstantial—"

"Brian, the suspicious behavior added to the fact that Tran and his cousin blew up your car with submachine guns is enough for a search warrant!" Eve explained forcefully.

"What we have is probable cause, and truckers arming themselves for some good old fashioned vigilante mayhem!" Bilkins told him.

The calmest man in the room, Tanner posed to the two undercovers, "Tell us about Hector." Muse made some racist comment, clearly not believing for a minute that the Hispanic was smart enough to pull off the hijackings.

"Hector's still working on the engines for the cars but the tires don't match," Brian explained. "Look, someone just give me a cigarette." Bilkins ordered Muse to do so, Eve calling for him to get her one as well. She had been trying to quit for weeks and nothing had been working – not pills, patches or even acupuncture – so she tried to do it cold turkey. That led to her biting her nails, which was not a good look for her. With what she just discovered about Brian – it didn't matter that he hadn't admitted it, she knew it was true – she needed a fucking cigarette, badly.

"Don't get him a cigarette," Tanner ordered. "I thought you quit?"

"Yeah, I did quit. Just get me a cigarette."

"Get him a cigarette," Bilkins ordered Muse again.

"No!" Tanner ordered.

"Muse, if you don't get _me_ a Goddamn cigarette, I will shoot you, do get me?" Eve shouted and he nodded, rushing off to get a cigarette. When he back with his pack, she grabbed the whole thing, took out a cigarette and stuffed the pack in her back pocket. He opened his mouth to say something to her she just narrowed her eyes. Muse nodded and backed off; he could always buy another pack.

"Tell me about Toretto," Tanner stated while Eve lit a cigarette, sighing happily as she exhale the first puff.

"Well, I told you, I think he's too controlled for this," Brian said. "I mean, what? Going suicidal on semi trucks? No way! Maybe his buddy Vince but he's too stupid to pull it off."

"I think the kid's sister is blurring your vision," Muse stated. Eve nodded to herself, not really caring if Bilkins or Tanner saw her. At least someone else saw what she did. Brian, however, tensed.

"What you say?"

Muse continued, "I don't blame you. I'd get off on her surveillance photos, too, buddy." That was all it took. Brian launched himself at Muse, pushing past Eve who was forced to jump up on the table, shoving him to the floor while Tanner pushed him back.

"Knock it off!" the Sergeant yelled. "What, are you going native on me, Brian?" Brian didn't answer, just looked over at Muse, who was getting a stern talking to from Bilkins. "You read Toretto's file lately?"

"Yeah, I memorized it."

"Yeah, well, read it again. Better still, take a look at these." He flipped through some pictures before passing them over to Brian. "Anybody tell you about the guy he nearly beat to death?" Eve already knew this, had seen all the pictures, so she hopped off the table to go outside and smoke by the pool. When Brian came out, he told her they had to get to Toretto's garage.

"What you tell them?" she asked.

"That we need a few more days," was all he said. Eve stopped, refusing to get in the truck. "You coming or what?" She crossed her arms and sighed. Brian just stared at her, nice and had, until she had no choice but to roll her eyes and get in, slamming the door closed. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," she demanded and looked at him. "You know the difference between a cop and a criminal, Brian?" He just stared at her, unsure if should answer or not. "One bad judgment call. The Agent who trained me, Penning, told me that on my first undercover case. You fuck this up," she warned him, "and I'll kill you." Brian didn't know if she was serious or not.

They went back to the garage and worked on the Supra for a bit. Dom, from what she could tell while working on the engine, had given Dom the typical big brother talk. Eve figured that, based on Dom's file, the big brother talk was taken much more seriously than it usually was. About ten minutes later, Dom told Brian to get out and go pick up his sister for their date, which he did was a smile. A nervous smile, but a smile nevertheless. After he was gone, everyone worked for a few more minutes before breaking for lunch. Since Mia was gone, and nobody felt like making lunch – what really happened was that the guys asked Letty and Eve to make them lunch, and both promptly went on a rant about women's lib and smacked them a couple times – they ordered out pizza. Along with the pizza, Eve had a bag of chips and sat quietly to the side, eating her chips and minding her own business.

"So what's your type?" Leon asked out of the blue. Eve stared at him a moment before eating another chip.

"Not you," she answered. Letty 'oohed' at him while Dom and Jesse poked some fun.

"You remind me of a guy I know," Dom told her.

"I remind you of a guy? Wow, thanks, Dom. That's…that's really special," she replied sarcastically.

"No, no, not like that," he said with a laugh. "Just the way you walk around, the way you talk – couple words at a time – even the damn snacks," he added, pointing to the chips with a smile. Eve looked at her bag with a frown, wondering the hell was wrong with them or her, for that matter. "I think you two would get along."

"If he's anything like Leon or Vince, I doubt it," Eve joked, for the first time with Dom, even cracking a smile. Leon chucked a rag at her as everyone laughed at him and she chucked it right back. Laughing with them, she couldn't help but feel like she was part of the team. Eve caught herself, knowing that she was starting to fall into the same trap that Brian was. Well, maybe not the same exact trap, but damn near close enough. She was yelling at him for getting close to these people, for making it personal, and what was she doing? Making friends. _Keep focused on the case,_ she thought to herself, _keep focused, close the case, and get your ass back home._ The sooner this case was closed, the better.

It was later that night that she was woken up by her vibrating cell phone on the hardwood of her end table. It was Bilkins. The hijackers had hit again and he had made his final decision on the matter, not caring what Brian or Tanner or anyone else thought. They were going to get the SWAT team organized and move on Johnny Tran and his guys at five o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Looking at her watch, she mentally corrected herself; they'd be going after them at five o'clock later today, as it was already well after three o'clock. He told her to go back to sleep, because she was going to need it, and hung up. Unable to go back to sleep, she changed into some biker shorts, a sports bra and sneakers. When she walked out of the guest room she'd been staying in, she looked at Brian's door and cautious looked inside. His bed was still made, which was shocking enough for a guy's room.

"Son of a bitch," she mumbled, closing the door. Going outside for her morning jog, she saw that The Racer's Edge truck Brian had been using to get around wasn't anywhere in sight. That only meant one thing: his date with Mia had gone absurdly well and he spent the night at his "room" at the shop. She shook her head and started running, knowing without a doubt that she was right: Brian was compromised.

P.S.: Six pages total.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

There's been some questions about when Han is going to show up. I totally understand the concern, since this is a Han/OC fic. I can tell you right now with 100% certainty that Han will show up in Chapter 6, so you don't have that much more to go! Just be patient! Now, I'm currently writing Chapter 12, which puts me seventy minutes into _Fast & Furious_ and, therefore, almost done with it so I can move onto _Fast Five_. Hope everyone has a happy Easter, if you celebrate, or a good day in general! Enjoy this chapter!

**Chapt****er 4**

It was hours later, after her calming jog and a few more hours sleep that she finally met up with Brian. He had shown up, ready to go with SWAT, and she asked him how his date went. He just said good and shoved on the face mask before putting on a helmet. Shaking her head, she stormed away from him and dressed herself in the same getup before arming herself with a gun. While Brian went with Tanner to Johnny Tran's home, she went with Bilkins and some other SWAT members to Little Saigon. Johnny's cousin Lance was there and actually had the balls to try and run, but Eve clothes lined him as he made his way for the back kitchen. The second he was on the ground, she had him rolled over on his stomach, foot on his back and handcuffed. All the while he was screaming about his rights. She didn't care, it had just felt good to get some of her frustration out on someone and hurting a guy like Lance was just the ticket. When their search was done, they left and the ride back to home base was quite. Bilkins didn't say a single word until they got back, meeting up with Brian and Tanner who, from the looks on their faces, hadn't had a much better result with Johnny than they'd had with Lance.

Bilkins was on the phone with his superiors at the moment, "Yes, sir. Yeah, I know but…uh, yeah, yeah, yes…yes, sir, yeah, I got it." He hung up and walked into the other room to give the rest of them the bad news. "The DVD players were purchased legally. All we've got on Tran and company are a couple low-rent weapons charges and some outstanding speeding tickets."

"So they're out?" Tanner guessed.

"Yeah, father bailed them out." That was a surprise to Eve, given that she'd been told Johnny's father had backhanded him before SWAT took him away. "Was this the kind of intelligence I can expect from you, O'Connor?" Eve lowered her head, knowing immediately that she was next in line. "And you, Trudeau, I expected better. You should've been there with him, backing him up, confirming yourself that the DVD players were legal and saving us all a lot of time!"

Eve nodded and apologized, "You're right, sir." It was true. She should have gone with Brian to Hector's, which would have led her to going to Tran's with him, but she trusted him, like he wanted, and what did it get her? A fucking lecture, probably a suspension, too. Had she been with Brian, she could've written down the serial numbers on the boxes and run them through the system, see if any of them had matched the stolen merchandise. But she hadn't and here she was.

"No, he's not," Brian told her and turned to face Bilkins. "You're gonna put this on us?"

"I can put this on whoever I want to, kid. Perks of the job," he replied. Brian looked at Tanner, stunned, and then to Eve, who just nodded the affirmative. Bilkins wasn't lying.

"No!" Brian exclaimed, rising to his feet. "There's no way you're gonna put this on us!"

"No, wait a minute! Let me tell you!" Bilkins interjected forcefully. "I don't care if you put a gun to someone's head and blow your cover to smithereens, you got thirty-six hours to crack this bastard." A day and a half, that was it? Eve put her head in her hands, frustrated and trying not to scream. "Or you both might wanna think about another career." That made Eve's head pop up. As he turned to leave, she called after him. He ignored her.

"Sir!" she called again, angrily. Pissed off, she looked between Brian and Tanner before storming out of the house and lighting a cigarette. Brian wasn't too far behind her, Tanner shortly coming out after him.

"It's Toretto, Brian, it always has been Toretto," he stated calmly. Brain just stood at the pool that acted as a sort of moat before the main entrance to the house. Eve was sitting on the ledge of the bridge of that moat, head down and smoking. "Tran and Hector, they're…they're just fumes." Brian didn't say anything, just moved down the steps to the pool. Eve looked over to see Tanner nod and move closer to his officer. "I know you've been lying to me. Question is, have you been lying to yourself because you can't see past Mia?"

Brian just looked at his boss and said, "He won't go back to prison."

"Well, that's a choice he's going to have to make." Tanner looked at him and added, "There's all kinds of family, Brian, and that's a choice _you're_ gonna have to make." He nodded to Eve, who nodded back, before leaving

* * *

The next morning, at Toretto's garage, the Supra was finally finished. It was bright orange, an ugly color in her opinion, but the warrior angel design Mia had put on the side of it was great. Brian and Dom were in the car, the first one's going for the test run, since it was basically their car. Leon was petting the engine the first time they started it up, listening to it purr. Eve to admit, it was a beautiful sound. The second they took off, they all cheered, knowing they'd made a beast and proud of it. Leon shouted for them to party and, after a couple shots of tequila, Eve forgot why she was undercover. She was pretty sure she even let Jesse and Leon give her a kiss, Jesse getting a peck on the cheek in return and Leon getting slapped. She woke up on Toretto's couch the next day with a splitting headache, but at least she was alone and had all her clothes on.

After getting back to the house and fixing herself her hangover cure, she waited for Brian to finally get back. When he did came back, he said that he had tried to pry an answer out of Dom, saying he needed to make extra cash and knew that Dom was into something else because there was no way he was paying for everything for the crew's cars with tune-ups and selling groceries. Dom hadn't given anything away, just gave him directions to Race Wars and told him that, they'd see how he did there, and then they'd talk. That sealed the deal for both of them. Tanner was right, it was Dom and his crew hijacking the trucks. After waiting in a long as long of cars, Eve's Mustang was marked up as 237 and she followed Brian inside the private property of Gate 9. How Race Wars was able to get permission to use the base, she still didn't know.

While Brain cruised around for a bit, probably to found Dom, Eve felt the need to blow off some steam and got in line to race. It was some guy who seemed to think girls only had one reason for being in a car and that reason involved being in the back seat. It pissed her off enough to bet five grand. He did the same and, after letting him think he had a good solid lead, she hit the NOS button – thank you, Jesse, for installing that – and kicked his ass. She couldn't but smile in satisfaction. After collecting her cash, she circled around to see Jeese's car taking off out of the desert and out of the Race Wars entirely. Confused, she turned around and pulled up in front of Dom, Leon and Vince who were watching Jesse leave as well.

"What the hell just happened?" she asked, getting out of her car.

"Jesse just raced Tran for slips," Leon said and Eve gawked at him.

"And you let him!" she shouted. "I guarantee you Tran had over a hundred grand in the hood of that car! How could you just let him! And for pinks! His dad will go straight back to prison for killing him, you idiot!" she screamed, punching Leon square in the jaw. She moved to hit him again but Dom pulled her off and shouted for her to calm down.

"Calm the _fuck_ down!" he rumbled and she struggled against him until they heard another engine pull up behind them. Dom turned around, letting her go, and saw Tran storming up to them.

"Where's he going?"

Dom, always quick on his feet, just said, "Went to the car wash."

"Whatever, go fetch my car," Tran ordered.

""Go fetch your car"?" Dom echoed and waved his finger warningly in front of Tran. "We're not on your block anymore. You better watch who you talk to like that." With that, Dom walked away but Tran wasn't having that.

"Toretto! Toretto!" he shouted, until Dom finally turned to face him. "SWAT came into my house, disrespected my whole family 'cause somebody NARKED ME OUT! And, you know what? It was YOU!" Tran couldn't say anything else because Dom punched him, sending him to the ground. Eve watched as he climbed on top of him and kept punching him. When Lance tried to come help, Letty knocked him out. Dom kept hitting Tran until security tried to pull him off, which they couldn't so Vince and Leon had to. The crowd was cheering him on though, encouraging the fight and hoping it wouldn't end.

"I NEVER NARKED ON NOBODY!" Dom shouted as his crew pulled him away. "I NEVER NARKED ON NOBODY!" Eve ran a hand through her hair and looked at Brian. Holy shit, was all they thought.

"So much for controlled, huh?" she mumbled, climbing back into her car and pulling it around the back of their campsite.

That night, the party was definitely going. Fires, dancing, most definitely sex and drugs. While Brian went to go find Mia, probably to get laid while Dom was away, she was leaning against her car and eating her Chex Mix again. It was only when she saw Mia with her brother that she thought something was up. She watched them, saw him trying to grab her and her pushing him away. She couldn't hear anything, but it looked as though he was trying to console her. It didn't work too well though because Dom took off in his car, along with Letty, Leon and Vince, and she was left standing there. Pushing herself off the hood, she dumped the snack into the passenger seat and ran to get Brian. He almost clocked her with the trailer door though.

"Dom just took off with the others," she told him.

"I know, I saw. We gotta get Mia," he replied and grabbed her, pulling her towards the stoic Mia, who was walking back to their campsite. "Mia! What's going on?"

"What?" she mumbled.

"You know what I'm talking about," Brian insisted.

"No, Brain."

"Oh, so you always have tears in your eyes when Dom drives away?"

Getting annoyed, Mia asked, "What is the matter with you?"

"Come on, what's your brother racing off in the middle of the night for?" Eve asked, getting frustrated with the stonewalling Mia was giving them. "We're talking about the trucks!"

"Eve," Brian warned, grabbing her arm. "Let me handle it."

"I let you do it your way, now I'm done playing!" she shouted, pushing him off her and turned back to Mia. "The trucks, Mia, you know about the trucks?"

"No, what trucks?" she shouted back. "Jesus Christ!" When she picked up her pace to get away from them, Brian reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back to them. "What?"

"Listen to me," he muttered, "Mia, I'm a cop." Mia just stared at him, confused, not really believing him and shook her head, asking him what he was talking about. She pulled her arm out of his grasp, but he grabbed her again. "Ever since the first time I met you, I've been undercover. Eve isn't my sister, she's FBI. I'm a cop." Mia looked between the two of them, the realization that they weren't joking suddenly dawning on her.

Mia sighed, "Oh, you bastard. You bastard!" She started walking away but both Brian and Eve grabbed her. Mia whipped around and started hitting Brian, shouting, "Get off of me!"

"Mia, listen to me!" he shouted, grabbing her arms and holding her close. "Everything I ever said I felt about you was real. I swear to God, you have to believe me, Mia" he told her. "But, right now, this isn't about you and me."

"Mia, you're brother is out there, we know he's about to pull another job, and we are running out of time," Eve interjected calmly. "The truckers aren't lying down anymore. They are arming up, we know it for a fact. And maybe they'll make it through tonight, but every single law enforcement agency in California is coming down on them." Seeing that Mia was thoroughly scared, Eve nodded and started to back away.

Brian took over and told her, "If you don't want anything to happen to your brother, to Letty, to Leon, to Vince, you just have to get in that car with me. You have to help me." Mia hesitated. "Mia, you are the only person that can help us right now. Please, Mia, please help us. Help me."

Whether she wanted to help them or not, the motivation to help her brother and friends was enough for her to get in the car with Brian. He led Eve out of Race Wars, and she waited patiently until she knew exactly where they were going to phone it in to Bilkins. She knew that Dom was smart. There was no way he'd double back and Highway 10 was way too well patrolled so that left them with a lot of roads to search. A second later, Brian called her and said that he got a cell phone trace on Dom, courtesy of Mia begrudgingly giving it to the operator. Eve complimented Brian, telling him that was good, smart quick thinking on his part. About five minutes later, he called her back and said that the trace said Dom was on the North bound 86, mile 114 outside of Coachella. They were about forty miles away.

"What are you thinking, Brian?" she asked seriously.

"I'm still working on that," he answered.

"Brian, if you don't make the call, I will," she stated seriously.

"Eve, do not do that! Don't do it!" he shouted. "You do _not_ make that call!"

"You haven't given me a choice," she answered before hanging up. Speeding up, she drove around Brian and looked at him as she passed him. Eve could see him shouting at her but she couldn't hear him. Her phone was ringing but she just hit the bitch button on her phone. Shaking her head, she sped up and flew past him. Dawn was just breaking as she opened her phone again and dialed Bilkins.

"You better have something for me, Trudeau. Time's almost up," he answered.

"Toretto and the crew are on the move."

"Perfect! Where they headed?" Eve started to answer but her other line beeped. "Trudeau, where is Toretto and his crew headed?" The line beeped again. She knew it was Brian and bit her lip, looking in the rear view to see him coming up behind her, dangerously close to hitting her bumper. "Trudeau!"

"Hold on, sir," she said and switched lines. "What, Brian?" she shouted angrily.

"Eve, do not call them," he ordered. Well, pleaded was more like it sounded.

"Already did. Bilkins is on the other line." Brian shouted 'shit' and she sighed. "You knew how this was going to go down, Brian. You let things get personal, I didn't. I don't have anything to lose by turning them all in. You do. So we either do this my way or—"

"No, we are gonna do this _my_ way!" he cut off angrily. "You are going to follow my lead and you are going to let me handle it, okay?" Eve just shook her head.

"Are you completely insane?" she questioned. "You know what'll happen if you let them off the hook, right?"

"I'm not letting them off the hook, I'm just asking you to trust me," he replied. "We're partners, Eve. You've trusted me before. Do it now, that's all I'm asking." Her line was beeping again; Bilkins was calling and, no doubt, was he pissed.

"Look where trusting you got us last time," she retorted. "My job, my career, my entire _life_, is on the line because of _your_ fuck up!"

"Eve, please, trust me. Please," he pleaded again. Eve looked out her driver's side window and looked past Mia to stare at Brian. "Please, Eve. Please." Biting her lip, Eve shook her head before growling in frustration.

She banged her head on the headrest and shouted, "Fine!" and switched to the other line. Bilkins was halfway through yelling at her when she told him that she and O'Connor had everything under control and she'd contact him if they needed backup. She hung up and tossed her phone in the back seat. Looking at Brian, she saw him smiling and nodded to him and he took the lead, speeding in front of her.

"Good luck," she mumbled. As they sped towards the others, she saw two black Civics on the side of the road. Hitting her breaks hard, smoke rising around the wheels, she quickly turned around to go back to the Civics. After stopping, she saw one was wrecked and Leon was pulling Letty up the hill to his car. Eve reached into her glove compartment and pulled out her gun. Cocking it, she got out walked towards them, her gun low at her side.

"How the hell did you find us, girl?" Leon asked, relieved to see her but also confused. Eve raised her gun at Leon, who was holding a very badly injured Letty up. "Whoa, what the hell are you doing?"

"FBI, move slowly," she ordered. Leon froze, staring at her as though she were joking. "Here's what's going to happen, Leon. You and Letty are going to get in your car and you're gonna drive ahead to where Brian is with Mia, Dom and Vince."

"This some kind of joke?" Eve leveled her gun between his eyes.

"Does it look like I'm joking?" With one hand, she reached into her back pocket and chucked her wallet at him. Leon caught it and, after opening it, he cursed. Her FBI badge and ID was staring him right in the face. "Let's go, get in the car. You try anything, and I'll blow out your tires."

"You bitch," Letty muttered. Eve actually winced, her feelings genuinely hurt.

"Move it!" she shouted and kept her gun held high until they were in their car. She got back into her Mustang and quickly followed, stopping briefly as Leon stopped to pick up Dom, and the group continued on the road. Where they were headed, Eve wasn't sure but she guessed Leon was following Dom's directions because, a moment later, they pulled over and she spotted the orange Supra. Cutting off the engine, Eve ignored the others and ran into the open desert where Brian and Mia were crouched over something. When she got closer, she saw the something was actually someone – Vince.

"What the hell happened?" she asked, kneeling beside the two. Vince was in pain, coughing, barely breathing it seemed. "Brian, what happened?"

"Come on, Vince! Hang in there, come on!" Brian shouted, ignoring her and tightening the makeshift tourniquet he'd made around Vince's bleeding arm.

"Brian, what happened?" she asked again but Dom running up to kneel beside Mia cut off her question yet again.

"He got shot, what does it look like!" he shouted at her. "If we don't get him to a hospital in ten minutes, he's dead!" Vince coughed again and Eve told them to put pressure on the wound, Dom using his shirt and hands with Mia's help. Brian looked at Dom, shaky and hesitant, before pulling out his phone and dialing 911. "Yeah. Yeah, this is Officer Brian O'Connor." That caught Dom's attention and he looked up at his friend. "I'm off duty LAPD. I need a lifeline blow out right away." Dom's stare soon became a glare as he slowly rose to his knees. He looked at Mia, but she didn't know what to say. She hadn't known for much longer than he had after all. "My twenty is Highway 86, mile marker 147. I've got one trauma victim, about twenty-four years of age, six foot, maybe two hundred pounds. He's got real deep lacerations to his right arm with arterial bleeding. And he's got a shotgun wound, close range to his left flank…yeah…yeah, he's going into shock!" Dom decided to ignore Brian for the moment and focused on keeping Vince alive. The second the chopper arrived, two medics came out with a stretcher. Brian and Eve went with them to help secure Vince in the chopper.

"I'll follow the chopper to the hospital," Eve told him. "We got Vince for sure. You need to go after Dom, Letty and Leon. We need to find Jesse, too."

"We can run the plates and PD'll pick him up," he replied stoically over the noise of the chopper.

"Good idea," she complimented. "I'll call Bilkins and Tanner, tell 'em that we got one and you're gonna grab the other five."

"Five?" he echoed confusedly. "Check your math! Dom, Letty, Leon and Jesse – that's four!"

"You forgot Mia!" Brian stared at her, shocked.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"She knew about the hijackings, Brian! She knew! She knew the _entire_ time!" she shouted, pushing him to get her point across. "_That_ makes her an accessory!"

"She's innocent!" he argued.

"I don't care!" she screamed at him. "She knew _exactly_ what they were doing and she didn't say anything! She's as guilty as them!"

"Just leave her out of it, Eve!"

"My hands are tied and so are yours, _Officer_," she replied. Brian looked back at Mia, who was looking between her brother and Brian, trying to decide which way to go. Eventually, she started running to her brother. Eve didn't say anything, just pounded on the helicopter door and walked away with Brian beside her. The helicopter took off above them and Eve shouted over the noise, "You better do what's right because I'm not going to lie for you, Brian!"

Brian jumped in his Supra while she made a dash for her Mustang. The helicopter went out of view quite fast but, after calling the operator, she quickly found her way there. She rushed into madness of the ER, pushing her way through disgruntled civilians in the waiting room to get to the front desk. The nurse told her she had to sign in and wait her tone but shut her mouth as soon as she saw the blood on her shirt and Eve shoved her badge in her face. Now that she had her attention, Eve demanded to know the location of Vince but he was in surgery and she was told she could wait outside his designated room. She did so and, an hour later, Vince was brought into his room, handcuffed to his bed. It was once the doctor's left that she went in and questioned him, as best she could with all the drugs in his system. In between all his cursing, shouting and failing miserably at throwing things at her, he eventually did confess to his part in the hijackings and named the rest of the crew as well. When Bilkins and Tanner showed up at the hospital, she met them outside Vince's room and opened her mouth to speak when Bilkins cut her off.

"Special Agent Trudeau, would you care to explain what the _hell_ happened?"

Eve sighed and leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. Staring her superior dead in the eye, she said, "Basically, it went like this…"

She slowly began to fill them in on what she knew. It had been Toretto and his crew that was jacking the trucks, Vince admitted to that much. Not that he needed to because they already had all the evidence they needed. They both applauded her on a job well done before telling her the bad news. They couldn't locate Letty, Leon or Mia. Jesse was found dead on Toretto's sidewalk from quite a few gunshot wounds. The autopsy would be more specific but the shell casings found on scene looked to be from a machine gun. It was a drive-by for sure and it was most definitely Tran, she told them as much, and they told her they believed it had been too because Johnny Tran was found shot dead at a small tunnel in Toretto's neighborhood and Lance was picked up not too far either, having crashed his bike down a hill. It seemed to them that both Brian and Dom had gone after them for killing Jesse.

"What about Brian and Toretto?" she asked. Bilkins and Tanner shared a look before sighing.

"Gone," Bilkins told her and she looked between them, waiting for an explanation. "When he killed Johnny Tran, Brian told some civilians to call 911. PD arrived and scoured the area and only came up with a crumpled modified 1970 Dodge Charger. Ran the plates, confirmed they belonged to Toretto."

"So Toretto is dead?" she asked confusedly. Tanner sighed and shook his head, running a hand over his balding head.

"No. The Supra you two restored, that's MIA and so are both Brian and Toretto. Near as we can tell, Brian let Toretto escape," he explained. Eve looked between the two of them, shocked.

"That stupid…" Eve bit her lip and punched the wall behind her, muttering curses as she clenched her aching hand. "So what do we do now?"

"Vince is going to jail, and we've got people patrolling the Mexican and Canadian borders for the rest of Toretto's gang," Bilkins told her. "What I need you to do is go back to Washington, rest up, prep yourself for Vince's trial, and then get to work on your next case."

"Which is?" she asked, eager to move on from the shit storm that was LA

"Finding Brian O'Connor."

Stunned, she asked, "Why?"

"O'Connor is alive, we're sure of that," Bilkins said. "He's been removed from the LAPD and his charges are aiding and abetting. Find him and bring him to Washington." Eve nodded obediently, taking it in slowly.

"Yes, sir," she answered and left the hospital. First things first, get home for a shower and sleep in her own bed for the first time in two months. Second, she would file all the necessary paperwork and prepare her notes for Vince's trial. Third, she would get back to LA and start tracking down Brian O'Connor, her ex-partner who willingly turned criminal for a street racing ex-convict and his sister.

P.S.: Nine pages total.


	5. Chapter 5: Turbo Charged

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

This chapter is taken from the _Turbo-Charged Prelude_, the six minute prelude to _2 Fast 2 Furious_, staring Paul Walker, showing just what he did after letting Dom escape and how he got to be in Miami.

**Chapter 5**

Back in Washington, Eve did exactly as she was told. She got some rest, set her affairs and order and stood trial to put Vince behind bars. The second she was relieved from the witness stand, she left the court house and set about reading over Brian's file. She didn't bother to stick around to here the verdict on Vince's case – Bilkins called and told her that he got five years. He would get out early though, if he behaved himself, which she doubted he could if his display in court was any indication. He had stood up and tried to throw the water pitcher at her, cursing and yelling obscenities. He had to be forcibly removed by three security officers and had contempt of court added to his charges. Vince didn't matter, he was a finished chapter of her life; what mattered was finding Brian, the traitor, and bring him to justice. Dom and the others would follow soon after, she was certain.

Brian's file wasn't much. His past was boring – just like the rest of Barstow, she gathered – except for the two years in juvie for boosting cars. It was after his release that he turned his life around, buckled down in school, went to the local community college, and passed the entrance exams into the police force. After a year in Barstow, mostly dealing with a few homicides and narcotics – even a few illegal street races and derbies – he put in for a transfer to the LAPD. Brian got his wish and, two weeks later, he moved a couple hours away from his old partners and was put to work before he even had his entire life moved into his house, let alone unpacked. Most of his LA career was boring, until the Toretto case and there was no need to even read that because she already knew all about it.

One thing she didn't know that was in the file was how Brian came to be charged with aiding and abetting. Apparently, when he couldn't be found, the rest of the LAPD went to his house and found his badge taped to the wood of the medicine cabinet/mirror of his bathroom. His gun wasn't there, but a lot of his clothes and some personal items were gone. It was clear what that meant, thus resulting in his removal from the force and his charges. Eve wasn't sure where to start but races in LA were her best bet. Of course, by now, word of the case, her and Brian's true identities, would have been all over LA's newspapers. Eve made sure her Mustang – she firmly told Bilkins she was keeping the car, especially since Jesse had fixed it up – was delivered back to LA and watched the races that first night from the shadows. Hector and Edwin were talking about the entire thing, one saying they heard Dom and the crew were in Mexico while the other said they were still in LA, hiding in plain sight. Other races said that Brian was with them and, using some connections, had gotten everyone – except Vince, obviously, though rumors said they were working on busting him out of prison – out of the country and were currently living large in Japan.

What did Eve think of this? Complete and utter bullshit, that's what. But rumors were all they had at the moment.

About two months later, back in Washington, another tip crossed her desk. Jumping at the chance to check it out, Eve immediately set out to Arizona. It was a long shot. "Brian Spilner" had been from Arizona and would never be dumb enough to run to his home state, but Brian O'Connor might. He would use his alias' history to his advantage. Besides, it was all she had and after two months without a word, she was willing to go on a little faith. Especially since the tip was about a small street racing scene that had been giving the local Arizona PD some trouble. Bilkins didn't want her to go. Actually, he flat out ordered her not to. Eve didn't care, she went anyway and, after a couple days of questioning, she found out that Brian had in fact been in Arizona. Having his picture on hand to shown around had been very helpful. As it turned out, Brian had cleaned up, won a bunch of money from the local street punks and race rats, much to their disappointment. Matter of fact, they were happy to see him leave. Regarding where he went, that was a more difficult task. Just like in LA, she got a dozen different answered but the two that came up more than anything were New York and New Mexico.

After she cleared it with Bilkins, he sent some agents to check out the possibility of Brian being down south while she went north. Three days in New York, she finally found the local races. All the racers refused to talk to her, knowing she was a newbie, figuring her to be nothing more than another racer chaser who just happened to have a hot car. Frustrated, she let her temper loose and acted foolishly. She acted like Brian and let her mouth run. Eve put up the slips to the Mustang and raced. Surprisingly enough, to the crowd at least, she won. That enough was to give her an in to the kingpin of the races, Malcolm Shore, drew his attention. While she was at the party, she spoke to Mal, as he preferred to be called, and told him she was looking for her brother, also a street racer, and had heard he was in New York. Eve showed him Brian's picture and he said he'd never seen him, but told he'd ask around for her and said she should stay, enjoy the party. Eve did so, asking a couple people of her own. The result was the same: no sign of Brian. After a week, running backgrounds and continuing to race and win some cash – without Bilkins' knowledge – Eve knew that Brian had never been in New York. On her drive back to New York, she called Bilkins to see how the search in New Mexico went.

Nothing. Brian wasn't there either but it had been the same story as Arizona. Brian _had_ been there, won a lot of money and got out of town quick. With no solid leads, everyone headed back to Washington. Luckily, while she and the others had been gone, Bilkins had the tech crew hard at work, using the press to their advantage. There were plenty of newspaper articles – her particular favorite read "Alleged Fugitive, Undercover Cop Still Missing" – and his face was splashed all over the news and, beneath his picture, was a number to call to the FBI tip line. Eve received each and every tip directly at her desk, which was an annoyance with her phone going off every minute of the day. Most days, she just slept at her desk or in the break room. About ninety-nine percent of them didn't pan out, usually cases of mistaken identity, the other one percent were actually sightings that were helpful. Until she arrived and found she had missed him yet again. The thing with Brian was that he had no pattern, nothing to help her guess his next move. The fact that he had been a cop was clearly working to his advantage. He was never seen on major highways or towns, always small backwater places. He never stayed in one place for more than a few days and he was always moving. But he had to screw up eventually, criminals always did.

Eve had been right on that one.

After another four months of investigating and chasing, just when she was about to give up, she finally had a lucky break when his car was found abandoned outside a motel in, of all places, New Mexico. Bilkins immediately told her to pack her shit and get there, flying her there first class while her car was delivered. He didn't like it, but Eve had told Bilkins she would pick up the trail again on foot and follow. He'd double-backed. It was brilliant, she'd give him that. Most detectives would check out the local haunts, sit on them for awhile and, when the suspect didn't show up, they crossed the location off their list and moved onto the next. The local cops said they'd seen the car at their diner earlier that day, around breakfast time, and thought it was suspicious so they ran the plates. Recognizing the face from the news and a fax they'd received last year, they called it in. After that, Brian started leaving a trail. Not intentionally, but it couldn't be helped when he was so suspicious.

Her second break came in when some Asian wangster kid called in reporting that his father, owner of some auto shop in the middle of nowhere, had sold Brian a car. The reason he had called it in was because Brian had paid in cash, somewhere around four grand. What kind of person carried that kind of cash around unless they were trouble? When asked which direction he headed, the wangster told her Interstate 10, probably toward Texarkana, and his father hit him. Mostly because he thought she was going to take away the money Brian had given him. She told him she wasn't interested in it and quickly left, headed for the destination twelve miles away and hoping she wasn't too late this time. The case that had quickly been going cold was back on and Eve was leading it on her own, from the road with full support from Washington via cell phone.

Sadly, she was too late yet again. But the locals were kind enough to tell her that Brian had worked at the auto shop for awhile and, after some coaxing from Brian's former employer, she found out that he had a new car: A Nissan Skyline GT-R R34, sure to be modified by now and he wouldn't give up the license plate without a warrant. Eve didn't care particularly about that because she didn't need it. The car Brian was riding around in now, it was easy to spot. The chase was back on! Though her happy mood dimmed a bit when she asked him where Brian was headed; he said Brian hadn't said anything to him. Lying stone-walling bastard, she cursed to herself. Pissed off, she left him her card and said to call if he miraculously remembered any vital information or if Brian contacted him.

Eve doubted she'd get a call anytime soon.

One this Eve learned for sure throughout her year-long hunt chasing Brian was this: driving around through Texas was boring. Despite the fact that she was asking questions and looking for leads, it was just very dull. More than once she got the call to come back to Washington but she always refused. It was weeks after speaking to the ex-boss that she got a call from the local police yet again. Apparently, they had spotted Brian while giving some motorcyclists and their girlfriends some speeding tickets. Well, not Brian exactly but they did see his car pass them by and, after the motorcyclists said that the guy had non-verbally agreed to race them, they ran the make of the car through the system. The only one that came up was Brian so they called Washington, who connected them to Eve's cell and, after a bit of bullshitting, they told her his car had been heading east. It was after screaming at them for not getting straight to that little piece of information that she took the first east bound exit.

She was in Louisiana in a couple hours.

After stopping at a shitty motel to rest – Bilkins ordered her too after she confessed she hadn't slept for the past three days, surviving on coffee and soda – she set out about getting all the information she could from the local cops. She hit all the backwater towns first, turning up empty handed, before moving onto the major cities. New Orleans, Shreveport, Metairie, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Kenner, Bossier City, Monroe, Alexandra, Baton Rouge. It would figure that she finally got a hit in the last city she went to. Apparently, racing in the back woods and swamps was all the rage in Baton Rouge and, after flashing his picture around, she learned that Brian was still winning money. Only difference was, was that Brian had earned a very good reputation and all the racers she spoke to were disappointed to see him leave. Eve was happy to report to Bilkins that she felt she was getting closer.

A year past with nothing; it had been two years and the tip line stopped ringing. Reports of sightings stopped coming across her desk. There were no more calls from cops across the country that had seen him or his car. And Jacob Pham, leader of the LA Cat-Fisters Race Team, who Brian had reportedly run with for awhile while she was chasing him, wasn't talking at all. Neither was anyone else on his team. Bilkins told her to take some time off, especially since she hadn't had a vacation since the year before the Toretto case. She was three years overdue for a break and he told her to use all her vacation time if she had to, but she couldn't stay at the office anymore because he refused to even speak to her until she rested. Seeing no other choice, Eve did as she was told and packed two bags of clothes and some personal effects. Bilkins told her to take all her vacation days at once so she did, all four weeks. What she never told Bilkins was that she wasn't really going on vacation but back to Louisiana to try to pick up Brian's trail again. He had only told her she couldn't stay at the office, that didn't mean she wouldn't take her work on the road with her. It had been so long and it was definitely a long shot but, hell, she had four weeks with nothing else to do so what did she have to lose?

It was on two and a half weeks into her search, following questionable leads and wondering if she'd ever find him, that she decided to go east. The only pattern Brian seemed to actually have was that he was always going east. As far as she knew, at least. It was while she was driving on the highway that she came to a crossroads. The signs read New York City and Miami. It was a split second decision. Could she have been wrong? Of course. Did she care? Not really. Eve listened to every instinct she had, every hair standing up, every goose bump, and made a left for Miami.

Ignoring the painful cramping in the pit of her stomach, knotting and gnawing away at her, she mulled over her decision in a logical fashion. Brian was from California so, temperature wise at least, he wouldn't like New York and, since she'd been there about two years ago searching for him, she knew it was a dead end. It was a stupid option anyway because, honestly, New York was known for its outstanding law enforcement. Another thing was, like she realized earlier, Brian had been sticking firmly to the southern states. Thinking about her decision to go look for him in Miami with no solid lead, well, the knot in her stomach loosened and she felt a bit better. Even rolled down the windows and took in the scenery, actually letting a smile grace her features. Hell, even if Brian _wasn't_ in Miami, she was still on vacation and the beach would be a great place to spend it. All of a sudden, Miami wasn't looking so bad. It was while she was waiting at a stop light that she spotted two cars, obviously racers if the pain job was any indication, and smirked.

That was all the proof she needed: Brian was definitely going to be in Miami.

After setting herself up in a hotel, Eve changed and drove to the beach. She would locate the local races later but, right now, she wanted to relax. Laying out a towel, she applied some lotion and laid back to bask in the wonderful rays for a bit. No harm in getting a tan. Sitting behind her desk and answering phones really did make her rather pale. Hell, glancing around real quick, she saw she looked like a corpse compared to everyone else on the beach. After about thirty minutes on her front, she undid the string of her bikini top and rolled over. Sighing, she allowed her eyes to close and take in the peaceful serenity of the beach. That was the one thing she missed about LA, the ocean. The Atlantic on the east coast really wasn't as pretty, or clean for that matter. Instead of the shimmering blues of LA and Miami, she constantly saw a murky greenish brown color. It looked nice from far away but up close was a whole other story.

It was the sound of a rumbling engine that disturbed her peace.

Head snapping up, she moved her sunglasses of her face and sat up. Right there on the road, she saw it and her heart stopped. A silver Nissan Skyline GT-R R34. There was blue painting streaked on the side, a sure sign of a racer. Moving up onto her knees, retying her top, she pulled on her shorts and craned her neck to get a better look at the driver. Leaving the towel behind, she grabbed her purse and made her way towards the road. Sneaking up the stairs, she approached the car from behind just as the driver parked and got out. As she got closer, she smirked at the familiar blonde head and T-shirt and jeans look. It was Brian, had to be. He was walking away, headed towards a shop when she leaned against the driver's door of the Nissan.

"Brian?" she called out curiously, just to be sure. He turned around, a smile on his face, probably thinking she was a fellow racer he knew. The smile quickly left his face as she pushed her sunglasses down her nose and waved at him. "Nice car," she complimented. Brian took off running.

Smirking, she ran to her Mustang and immediately gave chase. Brian was on foot, easy enough to catch. It was when he took off down an alleyway that she made a sharp turn and took a chance that she could cut him off. It paid off and she pulled up around the end of the long and winding alleyway just as Brian came out. He hit her hood and bounced off. He got up a second later though, just in time for her to punch him and fly into the brick wall to his right. Slamming her door shut, she walked over and hit him a couple more times, knowing that he wouldn't hit her – for some reason, even though she was beat him up, he was still that noble type of guy that would never hit a woman – before kneeing him in his stomach. Brian collapsed to his knees, coughing and holding his stomach in pain. Grabbing him by the back of his shirt, she picked him up as best she could before throwing him down on the ground and stepping down on his back.

The second his face hit the ground, Brian muttered, "Bitch." Backing away, she wiped her sweaty forehead and looked at her feet. A couple of small cuts, price she paid for fighting him in the back of an alley in bare feet.

"Pussy," she retorted on reflex. "Calling me names won't get you out of the trouble you're in."

"Am I under arrest?" he asked and Eve laughed, holding his hands together behind his back while she pulled out her handcuffs.

"For aiding and abetting Torreto? For making me chase you for the past two years? For ruining the first mother fucking vacation I've had in three Goddamn years?" she shouted, kicking him in the side after each question, a bit harder than previously done on the last one. Brian groaned, coughing in pain but she didn't really care. "You bet your ass you're under arrest!" Picking him up, she slammed him as hard as she could against the hood of her car.

"We were partners, Eve. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" She laughed bitterly, cuffing him tightly and enjoying the groans and winces of pain he gave out.

"First of all," she began, rolling him over so he faced her, "I am FBI and you _were_ LAPD; our departments temporarily joined and _forced_ us partners, got it? I would rather have worked that case alone than have been partnered up with you, much less anyone else from the "highly honored" LAPD, okay?" Brian stared at her stoically. "Secondly, we were "partners" for two months. It takes a hell of a lot longer than that to build trust and friendship required of a good partner in my book. So no, Brian, we weren't partners; just victims of bureaucratic circumstance. Now get your ass in the car, we're going to Washington," she ordered, pulling him off her hood and pushing him to the passenger side.

"What's in Washington?" he asked tonelessly.

"For me? A nice hot shower, a decent meal, my bed and maybe even an award for turning you, not mention some paperwork," she replied. "For you? A cell; FBI Headquarters for you, Barstow. Get in the damn car." She shoved him, none too gently, and slammed the door closed once his legs were in. Her cell phone rang about moment later and she pulled it out, smirking triumphantly at Brian. "Trudeau," she answered. It was Bilkins. "Sir, before you say anything, I've got great news. I just arrested O'Connor." Looking into the passenger window, she smiled victoriously while Brian scowled at her before staring at the road ahead of him.

Bilkins sighed and stated in an exhausted sort of way, "Trudeau, I told you to take a vacation."

"I did!" she defended. "And he just _happened_ to be in my vacation spot." Bilkins laughed to himself

"Yeah, right," he replied sarcastically. "Look, I need you to let him go." Eve paused, her face falling as she turned away from the car so Brian wouldn't hear her.

"What are you talking about, sir?"

"I need you to release him," he repeated and she demanded to know why, hands on her hips and she sat on the hood of her car. "We need him to work a joint operation with Customs."

Eve immediately knew there was a catch to this and asked, "And what the hell does he get for working for us again?"

"A clean record, charges dropped," he answered. Eve closed her eyes and sighed, her free hand turning into a fist as she tried not to scream.

"You knew he was in Miami, didn't you?" she shot at him, dangerously calm. "That's why you told me to go on vacation, because you knew I wouldn't accept this, not after chasing him all this time."

"Evelyn," he began and that made her listen right away, as he _never_ called her by her first name, "I had no idea he was in Miami until a couple hours ago when I got the call from Agent Markham." Eve listened patiently as he explained that an undercover Customs agent, Monica Fuentes, had been watching Brian at the races and that he was going to be arrested tonight, brought to himself and Markham, offered the deal and, hopefully, he would accept.

"Target?" she inquired, trying not to sound too interest.

"Argentinean drug lord Carter Verone," he answered. "Agent Fuentes has been undercover working with him, gathering information on the local street racers."

"Why would a drug lord be interested in street racers?" she asked incredulously. He explained that Fuentes said Verone needs two guys to participate in a money laundering run and, honestly, who better to run dirty money than drivers who are experienced in excessive speeding and avoiding cops? "So I spend two years chasing him down, finally get him, and you're telling me I have to let him go so you can arrest him yourself and then wipe his record clean?"

"I know, it sounds unfair—"

"You're _damn _right it does!"

"Special Agent Trudeau!" he barked and she winced. "You are to release O'Connor, finish up your vacation, and then return to Washington. You'll have a new case waiting for you when you get back. Now, release him."

Through clenched teeth, she replied, "Yes, sir." Snapping the phone shut, Eve stormed over to the door and dragged Brian out, much to his confusion. He started asking her who was on the phone, what she was doing, and then shutting up for good to turn and face her confusedly when she took off the handcuffs. "You're free to go. Get out of here," was all she said and moved to go to the driver's side.

"What, that's it?" he asked, following her.

"That's it."

"You're just letting me go?"

"Looks like," she sighed, her annoyance sounding quite cheerful. Brian shook his head, not buying it for a second.

"What kind of game you playing, Eve?" he asked, leaning down to the driver's side window as she started up the car.

"No game. In fact, game over. You're free to go so just go," she told him.

"Eve." She looked up at him, not wanting to but unable to ignore the seriousness in his voice. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me," she told him and sped off, heading straight for Washington. Screw the rest of her vacation, it was already ruined.

P.S.: Eight pages.


	6. Chapter 6: Los Bandoleros

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

I didn't plan on posting a chapter today but, I figure, with _Fast Five_ coming out today, I should post something! So, here it is, the chapter y'all have been patiently waiting for: the appearence of the epic Han Lue! Enjoy! Oh, and send me no spoilers on _Fast Five_, because I can't see it till net Thursday, which makes me a sad panda :(

Now, this takes place during _Los Bandoleros_, the prequel to _Fast & Furious_. Written and directed by Vin Diesel, it stars himself, Michelle Rodriquez, Sung Kang, Tego Calderon, and Don Omar. In about eighteen minutes, it tells the back story about this crew and the events leading up the oil truck heist seen in the very beginning of _Fast & Furious_. Some of the lines are taken from _Los Bandoleros_ and altered so, if you've seen it, then you know what lines I don't own.

**Chapter 6**

True to her thoughts, Eve didn't finish up her vacation. After releasing Brian, she drove straight back to Washington and stormed to her desk, ignoring all the gossiping chatter around her. When the hell the FBI turned into a watering hole for all the animals to gather and talk about the absent animals happened was beyond her. It was pathetic too, honestly. What was this, high school? Well, the saying _did_ go that high school never ended, perhaps that was true. Shit, if it was, than her adult life was in for a serious shit storm – more so than it already was – because high school literally was one long four years of hell. Teaming with the LAPD was the first level, being partnered with Brian was the second level, third would be working for Toretto and actually starting to like them, fourth was definitely Toretto getting away, fifth would be the last two years and her being forced to release Brian, sixth was most definitely the next two years of nothing exciting and bullshit cases. Eve had just returned from another bullshit case – terrorist or something, she didn't really care – when she saw another file on her desk. Shit, what she wouldn't give for another vacation, a good one this time around. The moment she sat down and read through the file, she sighed and read it again, seeing the similarities. Penning, the Agent who had originally trained her, was now the Director of the LA branch and, according to Bilkins, assigned this case to her specifically.

Boarding the plane for the Dominican Republic, she just knew that this case would be her seventh circle of hell.

The second she set foot off the plane and grabbed her two bags, she walked out to the parking lot where her Mustang was waiting. Eve smiled the second she saw it with its new paint job, dark green with two white racing strips from the hood to truck. Before she left, she told Bilkins her car had better meet her in the Dominican with the paint job she wanted when it was first given to her. He refused at first but, when she flat out told him that he either had it done or she'd quit, forcing the case that was chosen specifically for her to be passed to someone unsuited and definitely under qualified for it, he'd caved rather quickly. He'd even tinted all the windows for her. Tossing her bags in the back seat, she climbed into the driver's seat and saw the envelope in the passenger seat. Curiously, she picked it up and, after a moment of reading – it was a letter from Penning, detailing just where she'd be staying – she cursed a little and tossed it over her shoulder.

"I hate this place," she muttered and listened to the engine roar to life. It was so fucking hot that she was already sticking to the seats! And sweating, she realized, as she wiped her forehead.

Looking out her window as she drove, she saw the real Dominican, not the luxurious picture painted for tourists. It's pure poverty. Since the war in Iraq began, the prices of oil and gas rose to ridiculous heights, since all the best came directly out of Iraq. The entire world was affected, mostly the west, and the Dominican was no different. Gas is the new currency and, without gas, the locals couldn't survive and, when the price of it goes up, so does everything else. Eve drove by a dilapidated house, hung together by only some blue tarp and withering, stringy rope, and happened to see a child drinking something – most likely unclean water – from a rusty can. The child's clothes were in rags, not that it mattered, because they hung off her malnourished body. Averting her eyes, she turned back to the dirt road and felt her heart go out to that child and her family, to everyone milling about around her, walking barefoot or riding old rusted bikes. She felt bad for them, each and every one of them; she sympathized even though she's never been in their situation beyond a few undercover cases in the early days of her career. Narcotic drug rings and smuggling of the sexual nature mostly.

Arriving at the hotel, she parked the car and looked around through her shades. A few people were eyeing it up like prime merchandize. Decision quickly made, she pulled her gun out of her purse and tucked it into the back waistband of her jeans. The threat was clear and the few people eyeing her baby quickly averted their eyes and went back to business. No way in hell was she going to let some third world deadbeats steal her custom restored and finally perfect baby to use in either some races – which, if lost, could takes months to find if the thief raced for pinks and the winner hightailed it out of the country – or take her to some chop shop. Over her dead body. Grabbing her bags from the backseat, she quickly got the key to her room and immediately locked herself inside.

"Jesus Christ," she mumbled, sneering as she looked around the shitty room. If she thought the outside looked bad before, it was Buckingham Palace now. There was the distinct smell of something rotting lingering in the air, making her unable to pinpoint where it was coming from exactly. There was no TV either. Going to the bathroom, she closed her eyes at the disgusting brown liquid circling the toilet and the matching rings around the sink drain. Turning to the shower, hoping against hope that something wasn't a lost cause, she turned it on and sighed. No water pressure, fuck her life. "Deep breaths, Eve. Deep breaths," she told herself. Ambling back into the main room, she set the bags on the bed, which she definitely wouldn't be sleeping on – who knew when the sheets were changed or even washed, for that matter – and pulled the lone chair in the room over and sat down. If she thought the towels in the room were clean, she would've put those on it first to sit on.

Pulling out her case file, she poured herself into the information. Because gas and oil were the new currency of the world, they were worth a hell of a lot. Someone had been hijacking tankers of fuel, worth millions – maybe even billions – on the street. Six tankers had been hit already. Toretto and his crew, minus Vince and Jesse, had never been found. The similarities, once again, made her sigh. Due to her familiarity with the LA case she worked two years ago, and failed miserably at, Eve wasn't surprised that the case fell to her. She should have been insulted really, but she wasn't because this wasn't some wild goose chase. These hijackings really did have Toretto written all over it. The only real difference was that the cars used to jack the trucks weren't anything fancy, just simple pick-ups and the like. Connected to the case is a prison break of a known racer and car thief, Leo – real name Tego Leo – who had been captured trying to escape after robbing a bank. Closing the file, she leaned back in the chair and stared at it. This case, she knows, is her redemption, a test: pass, she's back in the Bureau's good graces again; fail, who knows what'll happen.

"It's him, has to be," she mumbled to herself. No one else in the world could do this kind of stuff but him. No one else had the balls.

Decisively, she rose to her feet and, after hiding the file and her bags the best she could – in a crack in the ceiling – she locked her room behind her to hit the streets. Best way to get information was by talking to the locals and, since she'd already flashed her gun, she knew she would be able to scare something out of a few people at the very least. With her car as backup to her cover – Evelyn Clay, originally from Michigan, only child, arrested for grand theft auto and spent three of her five year sentence behind bars – she was easily able to convince a few people into talking about the local races. It took some coaxing but, after boasting about how "great" she was at racing and how she couldn't wait to "make someone choke on her fumes", she had the people eating out of her hands in a matter of moments. Another exciting bit of information she garnered was stories about the king of the streets. Elite, a man no one had been able to beat since he'd first arrived two years ago. It was Dominic, had to be; the timeline fit too well for it not to be him.

The local races were pretty hush-hush, out in the middle of nowhere – Eve was surprised to find there was more nowhere to this town. Dressed in her skinny black leather pants, knee high boots, and a loose off-the-shoulder black top that rode up to show off her toned stomach, Eve drove to the races. It took her almost two hours to find the place but, when she did, she wasn't disappointed. It was just like every other race she'd ever been to except there were girls walking around in their bathing suits and bonfires were going. Looking out her tinted window, she slowly began scanning the crowd. It would be easier if she was outside her car, sure, but, if Dom was around, she sure as hell didn't want to alert him to her presence sooner than necessary. Hell, she didn't want to alert him at all. Eve really wasn't in a rush when it came to finding Dominic Toretto, not at all.

Unfortunately, a loud tapping on her driver's side window disturbed her patient waiting. It was a good thing the glass was tinted. She would've been embarrassed if the intruder had seen her jump. Though, from the chuckle she heard, just barely over the roar of the music outside, the stranger seemed to know they'd caught her off guard. Not scared her, not ever. Just caught her off guard. At least, that's what she told herself as she took a few deep calming breaths. This seemed to be a reoccurring theme since she got off the damn plane.

"You gonna lurk in there all night or are you gonna come out and play?" a male voice called kindly, yet mocking her at the same time.

Eve grit her teeth, took another deep breath, and slowly openly the door. She stepped out and stood tall, shoulders squared and confident. The man that knocked on her door looked her up and down, straying a moment on her breasts. Crossing her arms – not that, that did her any favors because he smirked at her – she glared at him. Brow quirked, she cleared her throat and waited until he looked at her again. He was hot, she'd give him that. Asians were a weakness of hers, a big surprise she discovered herself when she was sixteen with her first boyfriend, a Japanese immigrant the same age as her. The man before her was totally different from Jin though. With thick black slicked back hair, dark eyes, a devilish smirk, and a damn fine muscular body to round him out, this man was a long way from the geeky first love of her life.

"You look like shit." All attraction faded, for the moment at least, as soon as the words left his mouth.

"That means a lot coming from you," she retorted, looking him up and down. He laughed, thinking she was looking at him, seeing how sweaty he was from the unbearable heat, in disgust but Eve was really sizing him up. Leaning against her door, she smirked in annoyance. He really was a great looking guy. And, unfortunately, he was the only highlight of this entire trip thus far.

Smile still on his face, he asked, "Let me guess, jet lag?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," she replied, running a hand through her long blonde hair. She let out an exaggerated sigh, just to show how tired she was. "My hotel doesn't even have air conditioning, and the water pressure? Non-existent."

"No room service either?"

"And no TV."

"Ouch," he laughed, leaning next to her against her car. "Big city girl roughing it, huh?"

Sarcastic, she toned, "Ha ha."

"No, no, I feel your pain."

"Oh, really?" she questioned, not believing him for a second, turning to face him.

"Oh, yeah. I got here a couple months ago, dying for a decent shower, AC, TV—"

"Room service?" He nodded and the two shared a smile. Chuckling under her breath, she shook her head. "I take it you need the luxuries as bad as I do, huh?"

He just nodded and asked, "What's your name?" Eve licked her lips, biting the bottom, getting a good long look at him. Something about being off grid – well, basically off the grid since she knew backup was somewhere in the country – and this man, made her feel…she didn't know. Free, perhaps? Something about him just made her want to tell all her dirty little secrets. Was this how Brian felt about Mia?

"Evelyn…" she hesitated. "…Clay," she supplied, backing out like a coward at the last second. Her professional, logical mind refusing to let her tell the truth so easily. _And remember what it was like in LA? If Toretto is here, who's to say this guy isn't another Hector or Edwin, or Leon or Vince…or Jesse, _the voice in the back of her head reminded her. Besides, even if he wasn't close to Dom, he was obviously still a racer and that meant that, if he went around saying her name, word would definitely get back to Toretto, if he was indeed here. _He's here,_ the voice dictated. "Eve."

"Han Lue," he replied and held out his hand to her. A little amused, Eve took his hand and shook it. Before she could pull it back, however, he pulled her hand up t o his lips and kissed the back. Eve laughed and pulled her hand back. "What?" he asked innocently, his arms out in a 'what did I do' sort of gesture.

"And they say chivalry is dead," she answered. Crossing her arms, she told him, "That was real slick, but it takes a lot more than a peck of the hand to get into my pants."

"Who said I wanted to get into your pants?"

"You did, the minute you saw me get out of my car." Han nodded.

"Fair enough." He pulled out a bag of candy from his pocket and began to eat as he looked out at the crowd, watching the party around them. Eve waited for him to leave, even put a hand on her hip and sighed while she stared him down, hoping he'd get the hint, but he never did. From the smirk on his face, she gathered she wouldn't be getting rid of him for awhile. Sighing dejectedly, she leaned back against the car, scooting a little further away from him. "So what brings you to the Dominican?"

"Don't you have anything better to do?" she shot back, looking at the crowd at not at him. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she saw he was doing the exact same thing. He was ignoring her. She shouldn't have been angry but, God damn, she was! "I'm sure there's another girl just dying to drop her panties for you. If she's wearing any."

Han laughed out right at her and replied, "So you think I'm worth panty dropping, huh?" Growling under her breath, Eve grit her teeth and clenched a fist in her crossed arms. "It's okay; you don't have to admit it. I can tell just by looking at you."

"Can tell what?" she dared to ask.

"You know what," he answered.

Refusing to give anything away, Eve scoffed, "You wish. I don't go for guys like you." _Liar,_ the voice in the back of her mind sang.

"Guys like me?"

Looking him dead in the eyes, she said, "Racers."

"You're a racer though, aren't you?" Affectionately tapping the side of her car, he turned and faced her. "No normal person has a car like this. Only a complete tool or a racer would have put in the wrench time on this classic and, I'm willing to bet, you're not a tool."

"Thanks, I think," she replied sarcastically. Running a hand through her hair she sighed and told him the same thing she told everyone, "I race when I feel like it."

"Any good?"

"I do well enough," she answered noncommittally.

"Race me." He'd sounded so calm and blasé about it, she couldn't stop herself from whipping around to stare at him. Was he serious? Nodding his head in a 'come on' gesture, he pushed himself off the Mustang started to walk away. "Well? You coming or what?"

"Or what," she answered, still confused. Shaking his head, Han just waved his hand at her for her to follow him. Eve shook her head, refusing to move, and he stared her down. She stared right back, not giving him one inch. She wanted to fidget and avert her eyes, because he wasn't blinking and was beginning to make her nervous. As if sensing that, he began to smirk again and she finally growled, letting her frustration show. "Well?"

"Are you always this difficult?"

"Just today." He smiled fully at her and walked closer to her.

"If I show you my car, will you race me then?" Eve quirked a brow at him, confused. Shaking her head, she held out her arms in a 'what the fuck do you mean' kind of gesture and he chuckled. "Look, I'll show you my car, what's under the hood, and anything else you want. You don't have to do the same. We race."

Quirking a brow, she asked, "So you're voluntarily going to let me see everything you've got? Isn't that racing suicide?"

"Only if I lose. And I never lose," he stated. She should've been annoyed – okay, maybe she was a little bit – but he hadn't sound cocky or confident when he'd said it. If anything, he was simply stating a common fact as if he were reciting the names of the U.S. Presidents, telling her something that was obvious and had no chance of being changed at all because it was law.

"Fine then," she agreed and gestured for him to lead the way. On the little walk to his car, which she had to admit she was very curious about, Han waved, hugged, and fist bumped with a couple of people they passed. Apparently, he was a really popular guy. Lucky for her, none of the people he greeted looked familiar so either Dom hadn't arrived yet or he just wasn't parked around Han. The moment he stopped, hands shrugged into his pockets and a smug smile on his face, she stood still and gaped at the car before slowly moving closer. "This is your car?" she asked in awe.

"Yeah." Eve felt her breath leave her at the sight of the beautiful 1970 Plymouth Road Runner GTX and gently ran her hands along its shiny, perfectly restored body. "Well, for the rest of my time here, at least. I lost it a couple nights ago racing a friend, for old time's sake."

"You raced for pinks?" she questioned incredulously and shook her head, smiling at him. "Dumb move."

"Yeah, well, luckily he's a cool enough guy to let me keep it to get around until I leave." She didn't say anything, too busy popping the hood and checking out the engine. "Rebuilt her myself, from the ground up."

"Impressive," she comment. Pointing at the engine, she added, "Not a bad way to spent about twenty grand."

"I know," he said. Han didn't let on for a minute that he was impressed that she just knew how much money he'd put into the engine alone. A lot of girls, Letty and Mia excluded for obvious reasons, didn't have a clue about cars and, honestly, most didn't care to either. "So, what do you say? You in?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely. How often do you get the chance to see two classic muscle cars race, let alone being the one racing?" she questioned, an almost giddy smile gracing her features. This guy was most definitely the best part of this entire trip. "Since I can't get your car if I win, and I'm sure as hell not putting up the slips to mine, what's the wager?"

"Does there have to be one?" She stared at him, ignoring the sarcastic tone. He just smiled and shook his head. "Okay. You win, you get my winnings from tonight. Six grand." Just to prove it, he pulled out the roll of cash and she nodded. Maybe then she could set herself up at a decent hotel; Bilkins would never have to know.

"And if _you_ win?"

"You go out with me." Eve busted out laughing at that. She was laughing so hard that she had to bend over at the waist, her sides aching. Han was less than amused and just stared at her, a small frown and disbelief written all over his face. "What?" he exclaimed.

"That's what you want, a date?" He nodded and she laughed again. Han shook his head at her, not seeing what was so funny, more than a little embarrassed and disgruntled with her behavior. "You know what? Fine. You want a date if you win, fine. But, just so you know," she said, moving to stand toe-to-toe with him, chest pressed against his own as he smirked down at her, "you aren't going to win."

"We'll see," was all he said and told her to meet him at the line, pointing her in the right direction.

While he left to get someone to run the race for them, count down and all that, she strutted back to her Mustang, feeling confident. It had been a couple years since she raced, the last time before LA – which was only to get enough money to overnight parts from Japan on the Supra – had been on her successful break up of an illegal street racing syndicate in Texas. That was three years ago. The second she started her engine, she enjoyed the moment she had to listen to it purr at her. The adrenaline was already pumping through her veins as she drove slowly through the crowd to get to the start line where Han was already sitting in his Plymouth waiting. There was a lone man, definitely Dominican with a small afro, standing between the two cars. He was their flagger. Taking a closer look at him, as best she could in the light of their headlights, she recognized it from a picture she'd seen very recently. It was Tego, the escaped prisoner.

"Son of a bitch," she muttered and glanced at Han. His attention was solely in front of him, his hands lightly gripping the wheel. If Han knew Tego, then he probably knew Dom, which also meant that he was most likely involved in the hijackings. "Fuck," she cursed under her breath. Boy, did she know how to pick them.

"You ready?" Tego shouted, pointing at Han, who revved his engine in response. Tego posed the same question to her and she responded in kind. "Set?" Both engines revved together and Eve stole one last look at Han. He was smiling at her and she quickly looked away, scowling to stop herself from smiling. "GO!"

Tires screeched, blowing up the dirt and sand as both cars jumped forward. The force nearly knocked over Tego. The crowd that had gathered to watch struggled to see what was going on, some coughing at the smoke the tires had made, other choking on the sand they'd been hit with. Back and forth they went, Eve leading and then Han pulling in the front. Then Eve would push ahead, and then Han would, and so on. It was when the finish line came in sight that both pushed the NOS injector. Propelled with new strength, the cars zoomed closer and closer. Eve was certain she was winning when Han, at the last possible second, pulled out ahead of her crossed the finish line. Cursing, she hit the steering wheel with her palm and slowly stopped her Mustang a little ways from Han and his Plymouth. She sat inside for a moment, basking in the brilliance of her failure, before getting out. Han was swarmed with people from the sidelines; guys smacking the car in celebration, girls pulling at him for some action, cheers and yelling all around him. Arms crossed, she scowled at him as he made his way over to her.

Just as he opened his mouth, she pointed a finger at him and said, "Not one word." Turning away, she got back into her car and started the engine once again. As she turned her head to back out, she came face to face with Han, who was leaning against her open window.

"So where do I pick you up tomorrow?" he asked, that damn smirk still on his face.

"Blow me," she spat childishly and hit the gas, speeding backwards before doing a one-eighty and driving away from the races. The second she got back to her shitty hotel room, she cursed and started throwing some of her things around.

Eve really was a sore loser.

P.S.: Eight pages total.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

I'm finally going to see _Fast Five _tonight so I thought I'd reward y'all with a chapter! I don't own the _Los Bandoleros _or the _Tokyo Drift _lines used in here. See if you can catch them!

**Chapter 7**

Three days passed before she heard from Han.

Eve hadn't gone to the races since that night, nor did she care to. She knew she should, if for no other reason than to try and confirm for sure that Dom was around, but she didn't want to risk bumping into Han. The jeers she'd gotten after losing the race had been embarrassing enough. It had been just like when Brian lost to Dom that first time. That had been bad to watch but actually having it directed at her? She sure as hell didn't want to face that, again. Instead, she spent her time getting yelled at by Bilkins and trying to squeeze any information that she could get out of the locals. Unfortunately, the locals were much less than cooperative; in fact, they were downright passive aggressive and stone-walling her.

No one wanted to be the one who ratted out their own personal private hero, which was exactly what Dom had become by stealing what he was and giving it to the locals.

Eve had been hiding out in her hotel room, shitty as it was, it was better than walking around outside. Apparently, she was starting to garner attention. A little too much attention because the man who loitered outside the hotel – some sweet elderly man, Mateo, who thought she was a sweet young girl and took a shine on to her, making sure no one broke into her room while she gone, or there for that matter – had actually told her that people were starting to ask questions about her and her intentions. Mateo told her she need to back off because she was looking really suspicious and Eve knew that, sooner or later, the locals would be running to tell Dom about her questioning. And then where would she be? With Dom busting in her door and probably beating her to death with a torque wrench, that's where.

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

"Shit!" she exclaimed under her breath. She hadn't expected Dom to be at her door that fast! The banging persisted and she reached under her pillow for her gun. Cocking it, she slowly approached the door and applied the top chain lock. More knocking echoed in her ear as she slowly cracked the door open. Peaking around the edge, she held her gun up to the person on the other side.

"Whoa! You greet all your guests that way?" Slamming the door closed, her annoyance shining through with the resounding slam, she unchained the lock and pulled it open once again. Staring at the intruder in confusion, she waited for an explanation but he just pushed past her. "Not the welcome I was expecting," Han said as he closed the door behind him. "I thought women liked spontaneity."

"Not this one," she replied angrily stowing her gun in the waistband of her boy short panties.

"That's some hardware you got there," he commented lightly, pointing in the general direction of her gun.

"Girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do," she answered sarcastically, brushing off his concerned tone. "What the hell are you doing here? How'd you find me?"

He just shrugged, hands in his pockets and told her, "Asked around."

"And?" she shouted at him, arms wide as she stared at him. He was currently sitting on her bed. Well, more like bouncing on it, as if to be testing it out.

"And what?"

Growling in frustration, she ran her hands through her hair. He really did make her want to rip her hair out from the roots. "And what are you doing here?"

"You owe me a date, remember?" Smiling, he stood up and looked her up and down. "You have something nicer, like a dress? Not that I don't like this because it's very…" Looking down, Eve gasped and grabbed her coat off the bed to wrap herself up. She'd completely forgotten that she was still in her underwear and tank top that she'd worn to bed. Han chuckled amusedly and started rifling through her suit case until she pushed him away. "Ow, what's with the hostility?"

"Don't go through my things," she ordered.

"You need a dress though."

"Well, I don't have one."

"Then let's go get you one. You have nice shoes, right?" Eve stared blankly at him, motioning to her black boots that sat beside a pair of sneakers. They were the only shoes in the whole room. Han nodded to himself. "Right. Get some pants on, or don't, and let's go."

"Go where?" she asked as he opened the turn.

Over his shoulder, he smirked and said, "To get you ready. Hurry up." The second the door closed behind him, Eve sat on her bed. Tossing the blanket behind her, she crossed her arms in defiance. She heard a horn blare from outside and shook her head, mumbling about how she wasn't moving. The horn blared once more, even louder and longer, to the point of annoyance.

"FINE! I'm coming out, just stop honking!" she screamed, throwing on her shorts and sliding into her sneakers. The horn was still going when she opened the door; Han was looking at her through the passenger side window, smirking. Stalking over, she jerked the door open for sitting down and slamming it shut. "You're an asshole." He just chuckled to himself and drove down the road. The next fifteen minutes passed in silence until they reached a shack of a house in a ghetto.

"Stay here," he ordered and got out. He ran up to the house before running back and leaning into the window. "You got a favorite color?" he asked curiously.

Confused, she answered, "Um, yeah, green, why?"

"No reason," he replied nonchalantly and ran back into the house. Huffing, she sat back in her seat, drumming her fingernails on the side of the car. About five minutes later, Han came running out with a bundle in his hands, a frizzy haired Dominican woman about Eve's age shouting in her native tongue and chasing after him. "Catch!" he shouted, tossing the clothes at her through the window and rushed over to the driver's side. He had the Plymouth started and peeled away just in time for the woman got across the street. "Sorry, Cara!" he shouted out the window behind them as Cara hit the truck of the car.

Laughing hysterically, Eve couldn't help but ask, "What the fuck was that?"

"_That_ was Cara," he said.

"And who is she?" she questioned, eyeing him suspiciously. Han looked at her and shook his head, still smiling. "Girlfriend?"

"No! No," he answered, laughing with her. Nodding, she decided to let it go.

"Okay, but what the hell is this stuff?" she asked, holding up the bundle. Han reached over and opened up the bag he'd thrown everything in and showed it to her. Eyes wide, Eve pulled out a green halter dress, if it could even be called that. It was obviously skin tight, looked like it couldn't even go past her ass, and had a very low, open back. Still stunned, she looked back into the bag and found a pair of gold strappy shoes that she was sure she'd never be able to walk in. "And just what the fuck am I doing with your girlfriend's clothes?" she asked curiously.

"Cara's _not_ my girlfriend. Well, she thinks she is," he answered. Eve stared at him, waiting for him to continue. Han saw this and just smirked at her. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna make you change in the backseat."

"Oh, well, thank you," she spat sarcastically. "Where are we going?"

"A little place I know. Great booze, great music; the first place I came to the night I landed," he explained. "I know a guy in the kitchens, friend of a friend's friend. You can change back there."

"In the kitchen? Full of cooks and waiters and shit? I don't think so."

Han laughed, "It's the back entrance. Directly across from the bathrooms. You can change there, stow your clothes in the kitchen and then…"

"Then what?"

"Then the evening can begin."

* * *

Hands on the sink, Eve stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. The fast paced music could be heard outside and, she had to admit, she liked it. The food smelled great, too and damn was she hungry. If nothing else, she was getting a free meal and free drinks out of this evening. Probably be the best meal her entire time down in the Dominican, not that she'd ever admit that; she'd rather die first before admitting that to Han. The shoes hurt her feet since the heel was a lot thinner than she was used to, and higher, but she was getting used to it after all the pacing she'd been doing for past twenty minutes. Her pacing ended with her looking herself in the mirror, staring at herself, trying to fix her hair and work something out with the make-up she'd worn last night; she'd fallen asleep before washing it off. After deciding she looked presentable, Eve looked back at her reflection, not recognizing the woman that stared back. How did this happen? How did she get to this point? Why was she allowing this street racer to drag her around the Dominican? Why was she going on this date with him when she should've just shot at him and scared him off? That'd always worked in the past. What was she doing?

"What the fuck are you doing, girl?" she asked herself and then scoffed, shaking her head. "Going native, that's what," she mumbled. A knock on the door broke her silent scolding.

"You didn't climb out the window and run away, did you?" Han's voiced came and she couldn't help but smile as she opened the door. Han stepped back and looked at her, mouth dropping and eyes wide. "Wow."

"Thanks," she replied, subconsciously pulling the dress down a little lower on her thighs. It didn't do much good though as it just rode right back up.

"Why you doing that? You look great," he complimented and grabbed her hand, pulling her behind him through the kitchen.

"What about my clothes?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at the bathroom. Han just told her that it'd be fine and led her out the kitchen doors into the noisy restaurant. They walked around the dance floor before going to a table in the lounge area. A waiter came over and took their drinks; she ordered a Jack and Coke while he got a Corona. "Corona, huh?" In the back of her mind she remembered Dom and how that was the only brew he kept around his house.

"Jack and Coke, huh?" he retorted mockingly. She just bit her lip to keep herself from making a smartass comment; Han's eyes were immediately drawn to her mouth and took a deep breath. They sat in silence, Eve looking around at the place while Han just looked at her, until their drinks came and she decided to make some conversation. Best to get the awkwardness out of the way somehow.

"So, where you from? China? Japan?" she asked.

Han smirked and answer, "No and no."

"Vietnam?" she ventured curiously

"No," he laughed.

"Come on! Give me a hint here!" she laughed back. She couldn't help, his laugh was so infectious and his smirk? Well, it was to die for.

"I've never been east of the Atlantic," he answered mysteriously.

"What the hell kind of hint is that?"

"The perfect kind," he replied. Eve shook her head at his ambiguity. "And you? Where you from?"

"Baltimore," she answered honestly. That was as honest as she was going to get and that was something at least.

"East Coast girl meets the man that's never been east of the Atlantic. That's kind of poetic."

She snorted, "If that's poetic, than consider me Edgar Allan Poe." If he understood the reference between Poe and Baltimore, he didn't show it; just kept smiling at her. "So, I know I've only been here about four days but all I hear about is this "king of the streets"." Might as well get some information out of him while she could, since no one else was talking to her. "You know anything about him?" she asked, looking and sounding the picture of innocence and curiosity.

"I might," he replied simply. When she glared at him, he laughed and added, "You probably mean my friend."

"The same friend you lost your car to?" Han nodded yes. "The same friend who's a friend of friend of whoever in that kitchen here?" she'd asked and, again, he nodded the affirmative. "Who is this guy?"

"Dom," was all he said. _Jackpot,_ she thought.

"How'd you meet him?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Leaning forward, the dress showing ample cleavage as his eyes were drawn there, she smirked and coyly told him, "I asked you first."

Taking a deep breath, Han looked back in her eyes and said, "Okay, Special Agent Trudeau." Eve froze and stared at him, stunned. Once again, like so many times before, he just smiled at her. "Don't look so surprised. You aren't that good of an actress." Quirking a brow at him, Han sighed and conceded, "Okay, fine, you are. But you're terrible at hiding things," he added quickly. "Like a gun and badge."

"Badge?" she echoed confusedly. She'd never had her badge out, not since before she boarded the plane back in DC. Then the realization hit her hard. "You searched my room? When?"

"When you were out harassing the locals two days ago."

"I wasn't…!" Cutting herself off, she took a calming breath and sat back in her chair to stop herself from leaning over and grabbing him in a choke hold. "I wasn't harassing them. Just asking some questions." Han scoffed and leaned back in his chair, gulping down some beer. She stared back, guilt washing over her; he looked so disappointed. And disguised, with her. That hurt more than the disappointment, which confused her even more. "So you know. Why'd you still want this date?"

"Why you talking like you didn't want it, too?" he questioned arrogantly.

"I never said I didn't…!" Eve stopped herself once more, realizing what she'd just admitted and he smirked. Bastard, she thought to herself. Sighing frustrated, she took a long sip of her Jack and Coke. "Dom must've told you who I am."

"Actually, it was Letty." That surprised Eve. She hadn't even known Letty was in the area; Bilkins had mentioned something yesterday about his team closing in on her in Mexico but, the heists had been going on for some months and, if she was right, Dom wouldn't pull them off without his main girl.

"How'd she even know I was here?" Han shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked around the restaurant, avoiding her gaze.

"I was telling her about this girl I'd met three nights ago and, apparently, she bears a striking resemblance to a Fed she'd met in LA," he explained and she nodded slowly. She didn't know how she felt about Letty knowing she was in town. Worried, concerned was the first thing that came to mind. The second was a flush of some emotion she couldn't quite place knowing that Han had been talking about her to his friends, describing what she'd looked like. And, if Letty had remembered her from his story, he must've been extremely detailed to connect the dots. "I don't think Dom even knows you're here."

"Really?" she asked in disbelief.

"If he did, you'd probably be dead." She nodded, seeing his point and remembering how she thought the same thing just before he'd shown up at her door earlier. "She hasn't told him, don't ask me why but she hasn't. From what she said, you're a real bitch."

"She's just pissed because I put Vince in jail and helped force the others to run," she sneered.

"Can you blame her?" Eve looked at Han and sighed.

"…No," she admitted before quickly adding, "but don't you dare tell her that." Smirking a little, he nodded and went back to looking out at the crowd and drinking his Corona. "So?"

"So, what?"

"So, how did you meet Dom?"

"Can't you just look that up on your fancy FBI database or something?" he asked coldly, refusing to look at her. The asshole knew exactly who she was and yet he still dragged her out here on this date, or whatever it was now, and now he had the balls to give her the cold shoulder? She didn't think so.

"If you have a record, I could. But," she said, losing the cold hearted bitch tone, "I'd rather here it from you." Looking at her once more, Han nodded and took a long draw from his Corona.

"Fair enough," he replied. "I met him in Mexico a couple years ago, used to hear about him in the racing scene, and now I'm still running with him." From Dom's file, and vivid memory of the pictures, Eve knew that Dom had been banned from the racing circuit when he nearly beat a man to death with a torque wrench.

"Yeah? So you've been running with him for awhile."

"Yeah, we're good friends."

"Bullshit. Dom doesn't have friends. He has enemies and he has family. You're on his team, you're family."

"You were, too," he told her honestly. "Briefly, but you were."

"No, I wasn't," she laughed. "Brian maybe. She tell you about Brian?" He nodded. "Him maybe, but me? I was just…fumes," she explained seriously. Han looked like he wanted to protest but didn't. Probably had Letty's voice in the back of his head telling him not to feel sorry for her or fall for any tricks. "So, where you two been running? Not LA, I gather." She smirked a little, knowing full well he hadn't been running with Dom in LA because, if he ever had been, his name would've shown up in Dom's original case file when he was named as a suspect way back when.

Han laughed, "Not recently. Mostly South America."

"Good work there?"

"Not recently." Eve chuckled at his smartass comment. "Your turn."

"I'm sure you already know this. After all, Letty undoubtedly did threaten you to stay away."

"Humor me." Yeah, Letty had definitely given him some kind of speech and he obviously hadn't listened if the way he dodged her statement was any indication.

Rolling her eyes, she sighed, "Fine. I met Dom four years ago, when Brian and I were trying to arrest him for hijacking trucks filled with DVD players and some other valuable merchandise."

"How'd that go for you?" he asked in all seriousness and she shook her head at him. He knew how it'd gone, the smart ass.

"Not too well, obviously."

"Obviously," he echoed. "You still gonna try to arrest him?"

"Thinking about it." He leaned forward on the table to stare at her.

"You gonna arrest me?" Matching him, she leaned forward and smirked deviously, seductively.

"Thinking about it," she repeated and he smirked back.

"Maybe I can change your mind."

"Maybe." They shared a smile at her slight mocking of him and then the moment passed as quickly as it had come. "You're a good racer," she begrudgingly admitted as she sat back.

"Thanks, but I don't really race all that much," he replied. Curiously, she asked why. "What's the point of a race?" he posed to her.

"Um, to see if you're better than the other racer," she answered, not really understanding what this had to do with why he didn't race often.

"No, that just proves you're faster," he told her. "If I race, it has to be for something important. Or why else do it at all?"

"And a date with me was important?" He didn't answer, just smirked and stood up with a hand held out to her.

"Let's dance," he said, nodding his head towards the crowded floor.

"Oh, no," she exclaimed, laughing and shaking her head. "I do _not_ dance."

"Come on, Special Agent Trudeau, you're breaking my heart." Just to emphasize this, he put both his hands over his heart.

"One," she began and held up one finger at him, "it's Eve. And two," she continued, putting up a second finger, "I don't dance." Ignoring her protest, he grabbed her hand and pulled her up out of her chair.

"You do now," was all he said as he coaxed her towards the dance floor.

It would figure a slow song would come on, just her luck she supposed. Reluctantly, and unable to say no, she allowed him to place his arms on her waist after guiding her own to his shoulders. Han slowly swayed them around, keeping his distance yet not being too far away from her. Slowly but surely, Eve relaxed into his touch and moved her hands from his shoulders to wrap around his neck. She didn't realize that she'd moved closer to him because of this but he certainly wasn't complaining. She was screaming inside, asking herself just what she'd done to deserve the torment of being so beguiled by this man. About halfway through the song, she realized that all the space that had been between them before was gone as she was pressed completely against him. And she didn't care. It was at this point she also felt his hand stroke up and down her bare back, sending a jolt of shivers and pleasure all over her body. Pulling back, she stared up at him but he just smiled that damn smile of his and let his hand drift back to her waist, gently rubbing. Eve frowned, trying to pull away so she could leave.

"Let me go," she softly demanded, desperate now to get away from him. Her body was on fire beneath his touch. It was driving her mad, she needed to get away. She never should have come in the first place!

"Why would I want to do that?" he murmured into her ear, refusing to let her go.

"Because, you're…" she trailed off, not having a real answer. "…being inappropriate," she finished lamely.

"I like you," he stated.

"I'm no good for you," she retorted, shaking her head.

"You like me," he continued and she scowled at him.

Aware of the crowd around them, she pulled back and quietly hissed, "I'm a Federal Agent!" From the look on his face, she knew she'd said that a little more sharply than she had intended. "I'm supposed to be arresting your best friend. Maybe you, too," she reminded him.

"I don't care," he said, rubbing his hand up her waist so that his thumb could brush the underside of her breast through the dress.

Pushing him away, she hissed, "Date's over, hope you had fun because the next time I see you, I'm arresting you." Turning away from him, she walked off the dance floor and stormed out of the club into the warm night air. Han showed up when she was about three blocks away, slowly driving alongside her and talking to her through his driver side window.

"What are you doing?" he called to her.

"Walking, what does it look like?" she snapped.

"You're mad at me?" he asked in disbelief. "If anyone should be mad, it's me."

"You?" she scoffed. "Really, because I wasn't the one molesting you on the dance floor!"

"No, you're the one who tried to throw my friends in jail and now you're trying to succeed where you failed the first time!" he shouted back.

"Fuck you!" she screamed. "Go away!"

"No way. It's not safe for you to be walking these streets at this time of night."

"Ever the gentleman," she sneered sarcastically. "Guilty conscience?"

"Maybe."

"You're a piece of shit. No, scratch that!" Storming up the window, she leaned in and told him, "You're a lying sack of shit and nothing more than a second rate street rat!" Fuming, she pushed away from the car and continued on her walk back to her hotel. Which reminded her, she immediately had to change hotels since Han had apparently broken in and she hadn't even noticed anything was wrong. Hearing the squeal of tires, she stopped and turned around just in time to see Han speed around her and jump the curb, pulling up right in front of her. "Are you insane?" she screamed at him, walking up as he parked the car and got out, leaning casually against the hood."What the hell is wrong with you?"

The second she got in front of him, ready to hit him, he grabbed her jerked her to him, pressing his lips against her own. Eve struggled for a moment, trying to push and pry herself away from him, but he held her firm around her waist. Han held her close, his fingers digging into her hips, and Eve stopped struggling the second his tongue touched her lips. She let him slide in and let go, pushed her tongue against his own. The second she allowed herself to kiss him back, she forgot everything. She forgot the entire reason she was in the Dominican, forgot that she was a Fed on a case, forgot about Dom and Letty, forgot that she was probably going to have to arrest Han and just let her fingers slide into his hair, kissing him back with just as much ferocity.

* * *

"You know what a bandolero is?" Han asked out of the blue.

Leaning up on her elbow, she looked down at him and confusedly asked, "What?"

"Bandolero, you know what one is?" he repeated, staring up at the ceiling of her room.

"You're terrible at pillow talk," she stated, flopping back down on the bed beside him.

"I'm phenomenal at pillow talk," he defended. "Bandoleros," he continued seriously, lightly running his fingertips over her bare shoulder, "they aren't born, they're made. You know who makes them? The same assholes that put us behind bars, the lawyers who defend us and rob our money…without bandoleros, those sons of bitches wouldn't survive. People like you." Eve's head snapped to look at him but he didn't meet her gaze. "Everyone's against us. All we have is each other, our hood and our people." She continued to stare at him, stunned, but he still didn't look at her. Instead, he kept his eyes trained on the ceiling and kept caressing her skin. Laying her cheek against his bare chest, she sighed and closed her eyes, listening to his heart beat.

"So that's it then," she commented, after a moment of silence. She felt Han nod and she wrapped an arm around his waist, hugging into his side. Both of them closed their eyes and let sleep take them.

There wasn't a need to say anything else. Eve understood now exactly why Dom and his team did the things they did. People like her made them the way they are, forced them to steal and run, because of bureaucracy, because of laws – both written and unspoken – that she and others like her forced upon the world. Without people to chase and catch or try in court, without people like Dom and Letty and Han, then she would be just like every other mouth breather in the world. No purpose, no motivation, no drive or even want to do anything but exist. She got it now, why the world needed people like Dom – to make people like her; she got why the world needed people like Han – to make people like understand. And she did understand, for the first time in her life, she understood everything, even why Brian went native.

"Hey," he said, nudging her out of her thoughts. Looking up, she smiled weakly and he leaned down, kissing her once more. Eve eagerly returned the kissing, pulling him on top of her by his hair for round two.

P.S.: Eleven pages total.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

Just a heads up, the majority of the Han/Eve stuff in this chapter is taken pretty much directly from _Los Bandoleros_, replacing Dom and Letty for Han and Eve. I don't own those parts at all. And you may or may not recognize another _Tokyo Drift_ line, so I don't own that either.

Also! My trial of Microsoft Word expires June 11th (my original version that I got with my laptop expired and I used up the CD that came with it as many times as I could and this version is a download trial from the web) so, if anyone knows another way for me to use word or has a product key I can borrow or something, many thanks because, without Word, I can't write and may not be able to update. Anyway, enjoy this chapter! We are closing in on_ Fast & Furious_ and I've already started writing out _Fast Five_!

**Chapter 8**

Eve woke up to a cold bed. Drowsily, she reached over to find Han but found only empty space. Wide awake, she sat up, pulling the sheet up to cover her naked chest, she looked around her room. No sign of his clothes, the bathroom door was wide open and no sounds were inside, and there was no note or anything in sight. Even Cara's dress and shoes that she'd borrowed for about the tenth time over the past four weeks were gone. Sighing despondently, Eve ran a hand through her tangled mess of hair. She didn't know why she was surprised to find her room in this state because it wasn't the first time she'd woken up alone. Mumbling about how she was stupid over and over again, a pattern she'd adopted for every morning after a night with Han, she climbed out of bed and quickly got dressed. The second her clothes were on, she opened up her phone and dialed Bilkins.

"_Trudeau, I haven't heard from you in four weeks, so you better have good news for me,"_ was his greeting.

"Good morning to you, too, sir," she replied sarcastically. Her frustration with Han and allowing herself to start a relationship with him – if it could even be called that – had gotten to her.

"_Watch your tone, Special Agent!"_ he barked and Eve closed her eyes, wincing and apologizing to him. _"That's better. Now, what do you have for me?"_

"I've gone to the local races and I know Toretto is here, sir. I've seen him." Only glimpses but that didn't matter because seeing him was damning enough.

"_And?"_ he questioned expectantly, his temper short. _"What else?"_

"So far, no other heists have occurred and, given our past, I can't exactly infiltrate his circle again," she explained patiently. "It's been four weeks and, if we follow his pattern of hijackings from LA, then he'll pull another one soon. I'm sure of it."

"_And just how do you know that, Trudeau? Women's intuition?"_ he questioned sarcastically. Gritting her teeth, she bit back the urge to chuck her phone across the room. _"I need concrete evidence!"_

"And you'll get it, sir," she assured. "Also, I need a background check on a racer, Han Lue. He said he landed here a couple months ago and he let slip that he knows the top racer around here. His friend, Dom." Bilkins laughed over the other line and she sighed to herself, sitting down on the bed. What was she doing? Why was she doing this? She shouldn't be doing this, betraying Han's trust like this. She knew in the pit of her stomach that she shouldn't be doing this, that she should hang up right then and there.

"_That's a start, Trudeau. That's a start,"_ he replied and she heard some shuffling on the other line. _"I've got a check running on Lue now. I'll call you when I've got something. In the meantime, keep your head down and ears open. I want Toretto."_

"Understood, sir."

"_Now, I've got some news for you so listen carefully because I'm only saying this once,"_ he stated seriously and Eve perked up, tense and obedient. _"It's just a rumor right now, but you have forty-eight hours to make the arrest before DSS takes over."_

"Wait, DDS?" she echoed confusedly. "What the hell does the Diplomatic Security Service want with Toretto?"

"_Hell if I know and, quite frankly, I don't give a damn,"_ he replied. _"I've done some digging and the agent that might be taking over? Lucas Hobbs."_ Eve let that information sink in before lowering the phone to curse. Lucas "Luke" Hobbs, the leader of the elite taskforce for the DSS. When the FBI wanted to find somebody, as a last resort, they called him; he hunted men down and brought them in, dead or alive was totally up to whoever he was chasing. She worked with only one time about seven years ago. Well, "worked with" wasn't the term; beat her to a bloody pulp to teach her a lesson about the chain of command on a joint mission between their offices was more accurate. _"I take it you remember him," _Bilkins said sarcastically, hearing her curse.

"Vividly," she answered, running her free hand through her hair and set about pacing the small room.

"_It's a dirty move on their part and I've talked to the Director about it but my hands are tied."_ Eve nodded to herself, sighing. Like hell she was going to let Hobbs take over. A knock on her door drew her out of the murderous thought and, a second later, Han walked in. Two cups in his hands, he smirked as he leaned against the closed door and she couldn't help but smile back. _"Look, it's just a rumor, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. And, Trudeau, one more thing."_

Dropping her smile, she slipped back into serious-mode and said, "Sir?"

"_If you fail at handing over Toretto, again,"_ he stressed, _"then you'll be fired. No suspension, no demotion, no more warnings – fired."_ She nodded to herself once more and looked at Han, who frowned at her. He knew something was off.

"I know, sir," she replied quietly, sober. Bilkins made his goodbyes and both hung up. Sighing, she tossed her phone onto the bed and looked at Han, hands on her hips. "Where'd you go?"

Holding out the cup to her, he simply said, "Coffee." Walking over to him, she grabbed the offered cup and took a sip, sighing in delight at the delicious taste.

"Caramel almond frap extra whip, my favorite. Are you ever gonna tell me where you get this?" she asked in amazement, but Han gave a secretive smile. "Are you ever gonna tell me how you even know it's my favorite?" she questioned in exasperation.

"Letty," he answered. Eve nodded, remembering the couple of times she and Letty had gone out for coffee and the Latina had always made fun of her for her odd choice of caffeinated drink. "I thought I'd be back before you woke up."

"You got me my favorite coffee and answered one of the questions I've been asking you for weeks now, you're forgiven for leaving," she told him, walking over and impulsively giving him a quick kiss on the lips. The second she pulled away, Han wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back to him.

"Who was that on the phone?" Eve groaned and pulled away, sitting down on the bed. Han followed, adding, "From the tone, I'm guessing your boss."

"You guess right," she answered. "He said I have two days to arrest Dominic or I'm fired and the case is passed off to this prick I used to know."

"Two days," he mused, nodding slowly. "Then we better make the most of it. Come on." With that, he grabbed her hand and pulled a confused and laughing Eve out the door. They were in a car a moment later, definitely not his since it was a classic convertible.

"Who'd you steal this from?"

"Dom," he answered. "Just for the day; told him I wanted to cruise the coast in style."

"This car, your car in the near future – how many cars does he have?" He looked at her with a raised brow and she rolled her eyes. "I'm genuinely curious. If you don't trust me, you shouldn't keep coming back." She'd said it so coldly, scoffing and rolling her eyes away from him. Eve knew she was right and, though he didn't want to admit it, Han knew she was right, too.

"A 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS," he finally said. "That's the only other one he has."

Smiling, she replied, "Nice car. So, the coast, huh?" The rhetorical question sounded so peppy and unlike her that Han made a face at her. Eve ignored that, however, just like she was trying to ignore the fact that she was sitting in her target's car. With one of his partners, no less. This entire situation was just wrong but she didn't care, couldn't even muster up the urge to pretend to care. "That where Letty's going to meet you and you're both going to murder and bury me?" she asked sarcastically. Han just looked at her and shook his head.

"It's a surprise."

"I hate surprises."

"Just like you hate spontaneity."

"Exactly." Taking a long drink from her coffee, which was almost gone, she looked at him and asked, "If you don't mind me asking, why the fuel tankers? I know it's the new currency and everything, but what the hell are you guys going to do with it?"

Han looked at her once more, as if deciding whether or not he could trust her, and answered, "Down here, gas is gold. At the end of the day, people are gonna get what they need. You can't move forward without fuel, and no one wants to be left behind."

"You're telling me that Dom's pulling a Robin Hood for these people?" He just nodded and finished his coffee, chucking it out into the street. "Well…shit," she toned, for lack of anything else to say. Han laughed at her, reaching over to caress her thigh. Besides the shiver his touch sent straight to her very core and how much she wanted to just go back to her room for another round, the only thought in her head was how she really didn't want to arrest Dom now. "I don't know if I can do this."

"Do what?"

Looking him dead in the eye, she replied, "Arrest him. Arrest _you_." Han nodded slowly and squeezed her thigh.

"Don't worry about that right now," he told her, his thumb caressing her skin. "Look around you. Look where you are. Enjoy it. Relax."

Eve listened to him carefully before looking out her side of the car. The windows were rolled down, the top was down, and it was so hot but the breeze was cooling. It was the AC she'd been dying for since she'd left the airport. The highway was basically empty. Sand lined the sides of the road before melting into sparse patches of grass before a sea of huge tropical palm trees. On the side of the road, there were people walking around, some with their dogs, and even kids riding bikes and waving at them; she couldn't help but wave back. They had shouted things at her, smiles on their faces, but she didn't speak Dominican so she couldn't understand. Eve didn't care though; she was smiling so much her face hurt. This was paradise, pure and simple, and she didn't ever want to leave. Biting her bottom lip, she looked at Han, who had reached into the glove compartment to grab a bag of snacks and was slowly munching at them. Eve grinned, remembering something Dom had said at his house once, about how she reminded him of a friend of his because of her penchant for snack eating. He must've meant Han. With a devious gleam in her eyes, she chucked her coffee away and smirked before sliding over, pulling his snacks away – much to his dismay – and quickly straddled his lap.

"I've got you blocked," she said, grinning at him. Han grinned right back, the loss of his snacks not so bad anymore, and tried to see around her but she kept moving to block him. "You can't see. Oh, my God, we're going to crash. Oh, no! What's gonna happen?" she continued sarcastically. He just laughed and pulled her close, one arm wrapping around her waist. Content and relaxed, she smiled and hugged him with a sigh. In the back of her mind, she realized she understood completely how Brian felt about Mia, why he did what he did and why the decision to continue the case and try to prove Dom innocent was so hard.

"Letty never mentioned this side of you," he commented, squeezing her closer to him with an easy smile. Eve just laughed.

"That's because Letty never saw this side of me," she replied easily. "None of them did."

"Why not?" Eve tensed but slowly began to relax as Han began to stroke her back with his free hand.

Sighing, she simply replied, "It broke the rules. Too personal."

"And what are you doing right now?" Leaning back, she quickly kissed him, and laughed with him as he swerved in the empty road.

"I'm breaking all the rules." Pulling her back to him with a grin, Han sighed and continued the drive.

It was about ten minutes later, with Eve sitting back in the passenger seat, that they arrived at their destination. Eve released a stunned breath as she looked around at the secluded beach. Han walked over to her, took her hand in his, and pulled her towards the water. She protested about how she didn't have a suit but, apparently, he had that covered as well and ran back to the car. After a few moments of digging around in the trunk, he returned with a bikini for her and his own swim trunks. With a scrutinizing brow raised, she asked if the suit was Cara's to which he laughed and only shrugged noncommittally. Eve shook her head, a bemused smile on her face, before running into the shade of the trees to change. The moment she was changed she charged into the water and stayed under for a few moments before surfacing. It was the perfect blend of cool and warm.

A tugging on her legs drew her under with a yelp. Turning around, she came face to face with Han, who swam up to kiss her before bringing them both to the surface. Eve pulled away to make a witty remark at him but he pulled her back just as she opened her mouth. The rest of the day was spent in the same fashion. They would swim, explore the coastline together – even found a waterfall at one point, which was quickly christened – until finally the sun began to set. Han was laying back in the sand, enjoying the warmth of the setting sun when Eve emerged from the water and ran up to him. Laying down next to him, she wrapped herself around him, sighing in contentment as his arms wrapped around her. Closing her eyes, Eve smiled as Han pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"You feel that?" she whispered to him. "How can you be three thousand miles away from everything and not care?"

* * *

"You have fun today?"

They had arrived back at her hotel room and parked the car, just sitting together for the moment. The ride back had been much more relaxing than the ride to the beach. Mostly because she was far too exhausted to even think about trying to climb in his lap. They had not only spent some time in the waterfall, but a good portion of the beach had been christened as well. And the nearby wood of palm trees. All in all, it had been a great day. Eve had actually cat napped on the ride back and was now stretching, yawning in pure relaxation. Leaning against the headrest, she looked over at him and smiled.

"I did. Closest thing I've had to a vacation in years." Leaning over, she cupped his face and kissed him. Han responded slowly, keeping his hands to himself, knowing that as enticing as it was to go back into her room with her, there was no way he could. "Thank you for taking me there."

"You forgot who you're supposed to be and let yourself be who you are for a couple of hours. That's what I wanted," he told her. "You don't have to thank me."

Pressing another kiss to his lips, she mumbled, "Then I guess I'll just leave now." When she moved away, Han quickly pulled her back and pressed his lips against her own. He pulled her closer until she was lying across his lap with her arms around his neck, his own wrapped tightly around her waist.

"Why do you race?" she breathed against his lips and Han groaned. "Seriously, why do you race? Is it the money?"

"No," he answered, gripping her hips tightly as she slowly grinded against his growing erection.

"So why?" she repeated, giving him a teasing kiss.

"Is that some FBI tactic 'cause, gotta say, I like it," he retorted and she laughed, lightly slapping his shoulder. "It's not the money. I have money. Its trust and character I need around me." Lightly pushing her away, he tucked her hair behind her ear and looked her dead in the eyes. "You know, who you choose to be around you lets you know who you are."

"That why you run with Dom?" she questioned, sidestepping the underlying personal question about her own ethics, about the people she worked with. "Why you raced him? Lost your Plymouth to him?" she teased, but Han just shrugged.

"One car in exchange for knowing what a man's made of, that's a price I can live with." Eve shook her head at him, thinking he was absolutely crazy because she'd never do that in a million years. "Look at these people," he told her, nodding towards the street. Eve did so and saw a couple milling about, some smiling at her and Han's position while others just looked away. "They follow the rules, for what? They're letting fear lead them. What happens if they don't?" Starting up the car, Han pulled it around the back of the hotel with Eve still planted in his lap. Once the car was parked, he leaned back and looked up at her. "Life's simple," he told her. "You make choices and you don't look back." Nodding, Eve took a breath and never let her eyes leave his as she took off her top. Smiling, she leaned down and kissed Han harder, with more passion than she ever had before. She'd made her choice and knew, without a doubt, that she was never going to be the same. He was right, there was no way she could go back.

* * *

Han parked the car and laughed, shaking his head. He honestly couldn't believe the day he'd just had and who he'd shared it was even more unbelievable. If someone had told him a couple years ago that he'd be in the dredges of the Dominican Republic having an affair with an FBI Agent, he'd laughed and tell them to have another drink. Checking his cell phone, he saw it was well after midnight. Running a hand over his face, he looked at the backyard and saw the lights still on, heard the music playing and heard his crew laughing with each other. With a sigh, he ambled out of the car and decided it was probably best to just go in and get it over with.

"Han! Where you been, man?" Han just shrugged and smirked at Tego and Rico, who just laughed conspiratorially. He could tell just by the look on Han's face that he had been with a woman. Well, the look on his face and the way Cara had stormed back into the house, which made him and Rico laugh even harder, hitting the table in hysterics.

"Enjoy the coast?" Turning around, Han smiled at Dom and nodded as he accepted the Corona his oldest friend passed to him.

"It wasn't bad," he replied. Dom just shook a finger at him, smirking as he walked around to sit down next to Tego and Rico. Letty lightly pulled the back of Han's shirt as she walked by him, headed into the house. Taking a long sip of his beer, Han discreetly followed and, the second the door was closed, he yelped in pain and rubbed the back of his head where Letty had hit him.

"I hope you had fun today, because I'm stopping this right now," she stated, keeping her voice down so the family they were staying with wouldn't overhear her.

"What you talking about?" he asked, playing ignorant and walked around her to steal a piece of chicken off the stove top. Letty hit his hand and he groaned at the loss of his food.

Crossing her arms, she stared him down and firmly stated, "I know I helped you out before, but I'm done. You're too close." Han scoffed at her and she shoved him a little. "You like her. Too much. Stop it now or I'm telling Dom."

"Why haven't you told him already, huh?" he questioned defensively. Letty just shrugged and leaned back against the wall opposite him and smirked a little. Han shook his head at her, not even wanting to try to understand the woman's ulterior motives. "You're not my mother, Letty."

"What the hell is it about cops? First Mia, now you," she mumbled to herself. "It's been four weeks, okay? She hasn't stopped us yet, so thank you for distracting here but you just need to stop this, right now, before it gets messy. Don't tell me what I told you about her and Brian just went in one ear and out the other?"

"No, it didn't," he answered with a sigh.

"Then why are you trying to shit all over this job for some ass?" Han hit the table and turned to face her, hand raised to hit her before sighing and backing off.

Pointing a finger at her instead, he ordered, "Shut up."

"You're thinking with your dick instead of your head, Han! What else am I supposed to do? Just let you keep seeing her?" Scoffing, she shook her head at him. "You are out of your fucking mind if you think that."

"Like I said, you aren't my mom, Letty. You can't tell me who I can and can't see."

"I can if it's affecting the job and, guess what, Han? It is!" Taking a breath, she walked closer and whispered to him, "What is about her, huh? She that good in bed?" Han didn't answer and Letty sneered at him in disgust. "Or did you roll over and make a deal with her?"

"We have two days!" he blurted out. The second the words left his mouth, Han turned around to lean against the small counter and closed his eyes.

"What?"

"Two days," he repeated regretfully. "She said she has two days to make an arrest before someone else takes over."

Walking over, Letty gripped Han's shoulder and eagerly asked, "She say who?"

"No," he answered, "but I think she knew who and, whoever it is, it isn't good. Had her pretty shaken up." Letty sighed and nodded.

"I'll talk to Dom tonight," she said and patted his back. "Maybe letting you have some fun wasn't so bad after all," she chuckled and headed back outside. Looking out the dirty window, Han watched as Letty sat down in Dom's lap, kissing him before starting to whisper in his ear. From the look on his best friend's face, he knew it wasn't about moving up the heist but about promises of what was to come that night.

Running a hand through his hair, Han groaned, "What the hell have you done?"

The next morning, Dom told them it was time to hit another tanker. It was twenty minutes later, on the road, behind the wheel of a rusty truck with Cara beside him, that Han ignored Eve's call.

P.S.: Eight pages total.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

Sorry for the late update. I'm trying to only post when I have the next chapter written so I don't get caught up and leave all of you hanging. Unfortunately, Chapter 15 has been giving me trouble. But, I figure, y'all have been so patient and deserve an update so here it is! Oh, and my Word expires tomorrow so I don't know what I'm going to do about that but I'll be sure to keep y'all posted. Hopefully, even though my Word will be gone, I'll still be able to upload and update. Enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter 9**

"Come on, pick up," Eve muttered to herself, pacing length of her tiny room.

Since she's woken up three hours ago, she'd been trying to reach Han. At first, it had just been to see what he had planned for the day. She hated to admit it, but she wanted to see him. No, not want, craved. In the back of her head, she heard Brian's voice taunting and teasing her about how she was going native, just like he did. Mentally, she shouted at her annoying ex-partner to shut his mouth and tried Han's cell once again. This was the fifteenth call she'd made and, still, there was no answer. At first, it would ring and ring and go to voicemail, then it would ring a couple times before going to voicemail – he gave her the "bitch button", as she liked to call it. Now? Well, now, it wasn't ringing at all. His phone was off.

"Shit!" she shouted and closed her phone, chucking it at the bed. Running her hands through her hair, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to calm down. The instant the phone rang, she answered with a frantic, "Han?"

"_Han? Isn't that the racer you wanted that background check on?"_ Eve winced and shit her eyes at the sound of Bilkins' voice.

"Yes, sir," she answered hesitantly. "He's been acting as an…informant for me," she lied.

"_Right,"_ he scoffed, not fully believing her. _"Well, the check didn't turn up any "Han Lue"'s but the database did come up with a "Han Seoul-Oh". Nothing much besides the usual with street racers."_ Eve nodded slowly, her body tense as she cringed. Han Seoul-Oh, a.k.a Han Solo, how fucking lame and cheesy was that? Definitely had to be Han. _"Oh, and the local PD down there just wired a call to our office here,"_ he added with a sarcastically casual tone. _"There's been another heist."_

"What?" she echoed and ran outside and looked around at the locals. Bilkins was shouting something her ear but she didn't listen as she ran into the bars and even pedestrian homes until she found a working TV. Flipping through the channels of the old time knob turner, she eventually found the news. While she couldn't understand what was being said, she knew exactly what she saw and cursed. "I'm on my way, sir." Hanging up, she bolted out of the house, apologizing to the owners of the house.

When she got to the scene, the Mustang's breaks squealed to a halt and she flew out. Dominican officers tried to push her away from the scene, yelling at her in their native tongue. She shouted right back at them and waved her badge at them but they didn't seem to care. Eve was at her breaking point, ready to grab her gun, when another officer ran up and checked out her ID and nodded before letting her through. Putting her badge away, she stormed over to the wreckage and ran her hands through her hair. Groaning, she kicked at a random rock, ignoring the strange look the officer beside her was giving her. She was so fired…

"What happened?" she asked him.

"The driver knows more than we do," he replied. Apparently, he was the only English speaking officer around. Nodding, she told him to lead the way and he obliged, leading her straight to an overweight Dominican trucker, who was nervously stroking an iguana.

"Excuse me, sir, can you tell me what happened here?" she asked him. The second he opened his mouth, a stream of frantic Dominican came out and she raised her hand in agitation. "You mind?" she posed to the officer beside her and he nodded, telling the driver to slow down and explain while he translated for her.

The driver explained that a black car had driven up in front of him and, when he tried to get around, the car swerved to block him. He didn't think much of that, just assumed the driver was some punk trying to ruin his day. Hadn't been the first time he'd come across that kind before apparently. It was only when he looked in his side mirror and saw a woman walking on top of the tanks that he knew he was the next victim of the recent string of heists. He immediately began to push into the driver of the black car, even fired his gun at them – a gun he quickly assured he was licensed to have. Once the translator got him back on track, he explained that when he came up to the curve that he panicked, grabbed his pet iguana and jumped out; he didn't know what happened to the hijackers after that.

"Did you get a look at the driver?" she asked him and, after a moment of hurried speech, the officer beside her shook his head.

"He says no, but that it was definitely a man. Big arms, he says," he replied. Nodding her head, Eve told the translator to thank the driver for his time and turned away.

"What about the car this man was driving? Does he know what kind it was?" After another few moments of the translator and the driver speaking, which made her sigh in frustration, he turned back to her and said that the driver was certain it had been a black Buick Grand National. "All right," was all she said because, honestly, that didn't sound like Dom's kind of car but she supposed he was trying to maintain a low profile and what better way to do that than in a Buick? "And no sign of the hijackers?" she asked.

"No, nothing. He was the only one on scene." Sighing, she nodded. At least that meant that Han, Dom and Letty were all okay, along with anyone else on their team – if there was anyone. That Tego definitely was; his prison break and the hijackings were just too close together for him to not be involved. Walking away, she shouted at him to tell the rest of his officers to check out all the local garages.

"Specifically in Baracoa!" she ordered, remembering Han mentioning something about that area on one of their many dates. She had to give them something they could use and, as much as she hated to admit it, she needed to cover her ass. "And ask about Dominic Toretto!" she added, pulling out her cell phone to call Bilkins. "Sir? No sign of Toretto or his team."

"_God damn it!"_ he shouted in her ear.

"The driver didn't see much besides the fact that the driver was a man and—"

"_I don't give a damn, Trudeau! You are done!"_

Eve paused, "Sir, I—"

"_You are fired, Trudeau! You get your ass on the first flight back, finish your paperwork, and clean out your desk!" _

Bilkins hung up and Eve stood there a moment, unsure of what to do. There was a flurry of activity around her, the local PD running about collecting evidence and harassing the driver once again. A few civilians who had seen the news had shown up and were badgering the officers to tell them something or let them through, Eve wasn't really sure. She just couldn't hear anything besides all the blood rushing to her head. Her breath was broken and sharp, her chest hurt. Was she having a heart attack? No, there was no pain in her left side. So she wasn't dying and she wasn't freefalling into the Grand Canyon, so this wasn't a dream either. This was real, she was fired. Her life was officially over. How the hell had this happened? Picking up her phone once again, Eve took a chance and made another decision that would change the rest of her life.

"_Now's really not a good time,"_ Han greeted distractedly.

"You have to move, _now_," she told him, making a beeline for her Mustang.

"_What are you talking about?"_ he asked confusedly.

Slamming her door shut, she started the engine and shouted at him, "I'm talking about the fact that the FBI is gonna be up your asses if you don't move right now!" Eve ran a hand through her hair, knowing that she was to blame for that exact situation.

On his end, Han left the noise of the celebratory garage and asked, _"Calm down, okay? What's going on? What happened?"_

"What happened? What happened?" she shouted incredulously as she sped down the road. "What happened is that I got fired and the case is out of my hands! You, Dom, Letty and whoever else you're working with need to grab your shit and move to a secure location, NOW!" She heard him shout something over the phone and then there was some shuffling before she heard some engines roar.

"_Okay, we're moving now,"_ Han told her, and she heard the engine to his own car start up. _"Meet at the races tonight?"_

"Yeah, okay." Hanging up, she tossed her phone to the passenger seat and drove back to her motel. The second she got inside, she banged her head repeatedly on the closed door before sliding to the ground in tears. What the hell had she just done?

* * *

Hours later, Han was checking his phone for about the hundredth time. It was late now, had been hours since he'd heard from Eve and he was starting to get worried. True to her word, the cops had come and busted up their garage in Baracoa. Luckily for them, all the fuel had been moved by that point. This wasn't the first and he was sure it wouldn't be the last time, but he couldn't help but wonder, why couldn't they just rob banks instead? At least banks didn't move. But that wasn't the worrying part of the bust. That part belonged solely to the fact that the cops knew about Dom, had been asking a lot of questions to the locals about him. Somehow – and Han was pretty sure he knew how, too – they knew that Dom was the man they were after. He tried calling Eve again, but nothing. He only hoped that she'd at least gotten his voicemail and txt messages. Sighing, he put his phone back in his pocket and looked towards the lone fire at the shoreline. Dom and Letty. Han knew that they couldn't go on like this, had even told Dom as much, but he didn't listen. But, knowing Dom as well as he did, Han was sure his old friend had a plan up his sleeve. He hoped he did because, like Dom had said himself, everybody was after him.

"Hey." Turning around, he saw Eve with her hands in her pockets, shifting nervously on her feet. Sighing in relief, Han hopped off the hood of his Plymouth and hugged her. "What's wrong?"

"Just worried. Why didn't you answer your phone?" he asked as he pulled back from her. Brow quirked, she scoffed and posed him the same question. Han nodded, knowing he deserved that. Leaning back against his car again, he pulled her next to him and told her, "I told Dom we need to move out, but he said no."

"Why?" she exclaimed confusedly. Eve couldn't wrap her head around this latest information at all. Once he explained how Dom told him that the law was only after him, she understood. Dom was letting the others go, refused to let them get caught and take the heat for his problems.

"He said I had to go do my own thing," he told her. "I'm going to Tokyo." Eyes wide, she sputtered out a hesitant laugh and stared out at the crowd.

"Tokyo?" she echoed. "Big step for the man who's never been east of the Atlantic," she joked, laughing a little. Eve was still stunned, unsure what to say or do or how to act, so she just crossed her arms and stared at the dancing crowd. The main perk of being unemployed? She could watch the racers fill up their gas tanks with the stolen fuel and store containers of it in their trunks, to take it back to their families or friends in need, and not worry about having to report it to Bilkins. "Why there?"

Han shrugged, "I heard they're doing some crazy shit over there." Eve nodded, understanding what this means. Even though their relationship over the past four weeks was never defined, she knows that this is basically him "breaking up" with her.

"Well," she said with a slow nod of her head, "I hope you have fun."

"I want you to come with me."

Whipping around to face him, she gasped, "What?" The way he'd said it, so calm and collected, it caught her off guard. Han had a habit of doing that.

Smiling easily, he turned to face her and said, "Not a hard concept, Eve. Come. With. Me."

"I…I can't. My job…"

"Your job?" he scoffed and resisted the urge to grab her by her shoulders and shake her. "Eve, you don't have a job anymore. You got fired!"

"That doesn't mean that I can just run off with you!" she argued. Turning away from him, she ran her hands through her hair until he grabbed her by her elbow and whipped her around to face him. "I can't go with you."

"Why not?" he questioned. Leaning down, he whispered to her, "And don't say because of your job or your boss, and don't try to blame it on your sense of duty or honor or loyalty or whatever. That's bullshit. We both know that. So why?" he pressed.

"Because…" Eve sighed and rubbed her face in frustration, feeling a familiar burn behind her eyes. She had to stop this, right now, this was not her. She had never been the girl who cried over a guy, not ever. "Because…because you live this life, you take the consequences and this…this is a consequence," she told him quietly. "Everything's changed now, everything's…real. Our summer is over."

Han just nodded, realizing that there was no point in arguing with her, and wrapped his arm around her waist. Pulling her close, he began to drag her into the middle of the dancing crowd. He smirked at Eve, who was shaking her head at him, knowing she hated to dance but didn't quite care. Instead, he jerked his arm and pulled her even closer, so there wasn't a breath of air between them. Pressing a quick kiss to her lips, he smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and began to sway with him. It looked odd to everyone one else, since the upbeat song had all of them grinding and shaking, for them to be slow dancing. They didn't care though. This was their goodbye. Cupping her cheek, Han bent down and fused his mouth onto her own and Eve respond immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing herself into him.

* * *

One year had passed and it was now 2009: the year Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda assumed their seats on the UN Security Council, the year the Icelandic government and banking system collapsed and Prime Minister Geir Haarde resigned, the year Australia had their deadliest bush fires which killed one-hundred and seventy-three people, the year a Russian and American satellite collided over Siberia and created a large amount of space debris, the year NASA launched its Kepler Mission, the year the President of Madagascar was overthrown in a coup d'état, and just two days ago it became the year that Albania and Croatia were admitted to NATO, and the year that the second G-20 summit involving state leaders met in London to focus on the ongoing global financial crisis.

And despite all these countless events, Eve still thought of Han and the paradise that had been those four weeks in the Dominican Republic. It had been a year since she'd spoken to Han – and it wasn't for lack of trying on his part – but she always rejected his calls and pushed her focus into something. After a couple months, the calls stopped and she was grateful for it. Him not calling meant she didn't have to think about him, any more than she already did. Some time passed and he was at the back of her mind, lingering, instead of a constant runaway freight train screaming in the forefront. Lately though, and she couldn't really explain why, Eve was struggling more so to not think of him or call him. Hell, she wasn't even sure if his number was the same!

She thought about the night they said their goodbyes all the time. After that slow dance, both of them got into their cars and drove back to that beach they'd gone to week before that seventh and final heist. The evening and a good portion of the morning was spent making love in their cars, in the water, on the sand, at that waterfall, until they couldn't pretend and hide anymore. Both of them drove to the airport and stayed in line together, not speaking, only holding each other's hands, and waiting for their turn. Han had yet to buy himself a plane ticket to Tokyo and, while she was dreading it, Eve needed to fly back to the States to finish up her business before figuring out what to do next. The minute they got to the airport, Han made a call to someone – Tego, she believed – and set it up for both of their cars, which was a difficult task to explain, to be taken care of until they were sent for – Eve for her own and Dom for Han's – since the flight was so last minute that they couldn't make the proper arrangements with the airline themselves.

Once both tickets were bought, they went through security and got breakfast. The meal was spent in silence. Two hours later, Han picked up his lone bag of luggage, tossed Eve's over his shoulder, took her hand in his, and they walked together for as long as they could. It was at the proverbial fork in the road that they stopped and looked at each other. Eve sighed and tried to smile but found herself unable to. Han could though; he smirked at her and gently wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, caressing her jaw line and cheek with his thumb. Bending down, he pressed a kiss to her lips that, as always, sent a fire through her. Eve responded in kind, wrapping her arms tight around his waist, practically digging her nails into his back, not wanting to let him go. Unfortunately, she did have to let go and, when she did, Han held her face in both his hands, resting his forehead against hers.

Eyes closed, he quietly told her, "Be careful."

"You, too," she replied. "Don't let anyone call you a gaijin," she told him, remembering how her first love's family had always called her that.

""Gaijin"?" he echoed. "What's that mean?"

Smiling mysteriously, she told him, "You'll figure it out."

Han nodded and kissed her forehead before pulling away as quick as possible and walked away, not once looking back. In his mind, this was like taking off a band-aid; the quicker, the better, and less painful. Whoever said that was a liar because this hurt. It hurt a lot and, when he started seeing Eve, it had just been to get some inside information for the team. But now? He didn't expect to feel so…well, he just didn't expect to feel as much as he did for her. He had been completely blindsided and this – the entire situation, her refusing to run away with him, him walking away from her like she meant nothing to him, which was as far from the truth as possible – it hurt a hell of a lot. The only comfort he had was that he knew she was feeling the exact same way.

Eve watched him walk away, disappear into the crowd, before sighing and looking around her. All around her were people who knew exactly where they were going, what they were doing with their lives, who had purpose that drove them. She envied them. That was when it hit her: she could never go back to who she was. She had been fired and there was no way she could go back to the States and expect everything to be fine. Bilkins probably knew for certain that Han wasn't an informant but another member of Dom's team and that she had gone native. Just like Brian had. There was no way she wouldn't be in trouble – probably even face some jail time – if she went back. Turning around, she practically ran back to the ticket counter and panted, trying to catch her breath while the man just stared at her curiously.

"I need to exchange this ticket," she explained. The man nodded, still eyeing her warily, and asked where she wanted to go. Eve paused, not really sure. Of course, there had been a tone of places she wanted to go but where? Well, racing was in her blood now; she was certain she'd never be able to give it up. While her first racing cases had been in the States, a few others had been out of the country. She'd been to Australia, Sweden, the UK, and New Zealand but there were tons of other places to go. The top of her list was Japan, but Han was there so that was out. Where could she go?

"Miss?" Eve looked up at the man, who was now growing impatient. "Where do you want to go?"

Eve stared at him before stating, "Malaysia."

And she'd been there ever since.

Not only was it illegal to participate in a street race in Malaysia was not only illegal, but it was illegal just to watch. But that didn't stop Eve or any other racers. Regular civilian streets, highways and expressways were the sites of countless races that went on every night. And they were happening all over the country. Eve herself had been racing, making a name for herself and making connections in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, Johor Bahru, and many other cities. But she wasn't racing with her car. Hell no, it was far too recognizable, especially since she'd found out that there was a warrant for her arrest now, for evading custody, aiding and abetting. Now, instead, she'd taken to racing motorcycles once again, which had actually been her first racing job with the FBI. It had taken about three months to get back to her previous level of skill, but a year later she was now up to par and even better than before.

Eve was now a Mat Rempit, a common name for illegal street racers in Malaysia, because she could not only race but could do some stunts on her bike. One of her favorite things to do was to weave in-between moving and stationary traffic at high-speed, something the locals called "cilok". It was fun, a total adrenaline rush. Unlike other Mat Rempit's, she didn't cause trouble for the police outside of her racing and speeding. While other would be raiding petrol stations, she was working on making both her bike – a Triumph TT600 that could go from zero to a hundred mph in less than six second – and car even faster. She was working underneath her car when the phone of the garage she worked at, and lived at in the tiny apartment above, rang. Unfazed, Eve ignored it because she never got calls until night rolled around and she was told where the races for that night were going to be. It was only when Wuji Farid, her friend, boss and landlord, walked over and tapped the hood of her car.

"Tuyet!" Wuji called. Tuyet was the nickname the local racers gave her the first night she showed up. It meant "snow white" and, even though it was sort of meant as an insult, it just stuck. The weird part about it was that Eve discovered the name was actually Vietnamese so why a bunch of Malaysian racers gave her a Vietnamese nickname was beyond her. "Tuyet!" he called again, kicking her feet this time.

"You know, the pump of a car is like a heart. If it breaks, it can kill," she answered distractedly, focused on her work. "And you are dangerously close to causing me to break this pump with your shouting." He tapped on the hood once again and she sighed before pulling out from underneath. The moment she sat up, she looked up at him as he held out the phone to her. "Who is it?" she asked in irritation.

"A man," he replied as she took the phone with an eye roll and walked away.

"So informative," she mumbled. Wuji was a Mat Rempit as well and, while he was a good friend, he really was an annoying bastard sometimes. "Hello?" she asked, holding the phone up on her shoulder as she dug around the tool box.

_"Eve?"_ The male voice made her freeze. She hadn't heard that voice in three years.

Unsure, she quietly asked, "Brian?"

"_Yeah, it's me."_

"Um, uh…why…um, how…how did you find me?" she questioned confusedly, sitting on the hood of her car.

"_I'm FBI now,"_ he replied. Once again, Eve was floored, left totally speechless. _Twist,_ was the only thought in her head. "_Listen, something's happened and I need you to come to LA."_

"Brian, I know we haven't spoken in a while—"

"_Three years,"_ he interjected.

"—but you are out of your fucking mind if you think I'm coming back to the States."

"_I know about your charges. I'll get 'em dropped,"_ he told her. Arms crossed, she skeptically asked him why the hell he would do that for her, especially considering she didn't even offer him the same. _"Like I said, I need your help."_

"With what?"

"_It's Letty,"_ he began and quickly sighed. _"She's…Letty's dead, Eve."_

"D-Dead?" she exclaimed in shock. "Wh…what? How? When?"

"_I'll explain when you get back to LA,"_ he told her, knowing that she'd come back now whether she wanted to or not.

Before he hung up, however, he told her when and where the funeral was. Having no other choice, Eve sighed and explained the situation to Wuji, who agreed to send her car after her, and then went upstairs to pack a bag. The moment her bag was packed, she sat down and thought about Letty. While the two of them had never been particularly close, they at least respected each other. Well, back when she was still Eve Spilner and on Dom's team did they respect each other. Still, Letty never ratted her out to Dom about her being in the Dominican. For four weeks, she had every opportunity to tell and let Dom sort her out but she never had and Eve had always wondered why. Now she would never get the chance to know. Han suddenly flashed in her mind and she knew what she had to do next. Pulling out her cell phone, she slowly dialed the familiar number and waited patiently, pacing the length of her room, as it rang.

"_Moshi moshi?"_ he answered and Eve couldn't help but crack a smile, relieved that his number was the same.

"You picked up the language pretty quick," she stated, sitting down on her bed with a relaxed sigh. "I'm impressed."

Stunned and quiet, as if he was afraid he was dreaming, he asked, _"Eve?"_

"The one and only," she retorted, laughing tearfully. She quickly wiped her eyes, feeling foolish for even crying. Her body was obviously working against her and she didn't appreciate it one bit.

"_How, uh…"_ he trailed off before laughing, still shocked to hear her voice. After a year of being ignored, he wasn't sure if he should be happy to hear her voice or pissed off. In the background, however, Eve heard a girl's voice and Han whispered something to her and she was certain she heard the girl sigh and then nothing; must have left. The tears of joy were soon gone and replaced with anger and jealousy, not that she had any right to be. _"How have you been?"_ In his mind, that seemed like the safest route to start off with.

"Not bad. You?" she replied, nervously playing with the bed sheet. She was stalling, she knew it, and she felt like shit for it.

"_Fine, just fine." _

"Still have your adoring army of skanks at your beck and call?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood though her jealousy at the thought of that situation was clearly burning through. Especially since she knew he'd been with a girl when he'd answered the phone, whether at a bar or in his bed, she didn't know or care to think about.

"_Where are you?"_ he asked quickly, eagerly.

"I'll take that as a yes," she mumbled and shook her head in disappointment. She should've known; even when they went out together, Han always had girls fawning all over him. Besides, just because she hadn't wanted to fuck around with a new guy over the past year, didn't mean that he couldn't if he wanted to. And, clearly, he'd wanted to. "You know I can't tell you that," she stated immediately, firm and regretful. Running a hand through her hair, she sighed and continued, "Look, I didn't call to catch up. I thought you should know, uh…um, I got a call a little while ago and, well…Letty's dead, Han," she finally managed to tell him.

Han immediately responded, _"I'm on my way. She was still down in the DR, right?_"

"I don't know, I don't think so, but you can't go!" she shouted at him.

"_Why not?"_

With a heavy sigh, she explained, "Last year, I gave my boss your name, said you were an informant from inside Dom's team." On the other end of the phone, she heard him scoff and quickly apologized, "I didn't mean to give him your name but…look, long story short, you're on the list of Dom's accomplices so the FBI will arrest you the second you land in the States. Same goes for me." Han just said 'okay' a couple times and she sighed once again. "I'm sorry."

"_It's cool. I understand,"_ he replied easily. _"Not like you were alone,"_ he continued and proceeded to admit, _"I told Letty everything you told me about your case."_

Enraged and shocked, she shouted, "You did what?"

"_Call it even,"_ he snickered and, oddly enough, she found herself chuckling as well. _"Keep me updated?"_

"Always," she replied with a bemused smile. "So, how's the racing scene in Tokyo?"

"_Different,"_ he answered easily. _"Very different."_ Eve scoffed.

"How different can it be? Driving is driving," she retorted.

"_Not when you're drifting,"_ he replied. Confused, she asked just what the hell drifting was and he laughed a little. _"Come to Tokyo and I'll show you."_

"…I can't, you know that. It's too dangerous," she reminded him forlornly.

"_I'll protect you,"_ he stated firmly. _"I know people here. Highly connected people."_

"Han, I…"

"_What are you so scared of?"_

Eve paused at that question. It was a valid question: what _was _she scared of? It definitely wasn't of seeing Han again because what she wanted, more than anything, was to see him again. Not because she was in love with him – she'd die before ever admitting that – but because she missed him. Even if he always was surrounded by a crowd of skanky racer chasers; just the thought of those bitches hanging all over him, Cara practically surgically attached to his side, and running away whenever she showed up made her smile. Han was the first person in her life that actually made her believe that she was more than her job, actually made her feel like a human being instead of a suit. And it definitely wasn't about being a foreigner because she knew enough Japanese to get by. Fidgeting as she stood up, Eve realized that she didn't know how she felt. She honestly wasn't too sure if she was scared or not, or if she was feeling something else entirely. All she knew was that going to Tokyo was not a good idea. Whether it be because Han was there, meaning a lifetime of temptations, or because just risking getting ID'd and arrested the second she entered a airport.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," she answered quickly. "I'll keep you posted, okay?" Hanging up before he had a chance to answer, Eve let out a heavy sigh and dug the balls of her hands into her eyes to force the tears back. After a couple deep calming breaths, she shook her head and moved to her laptop and quickly bought a ticket on the first flight out to L.A. under her newest alias: Evelyn Jensen.

P.S.: Eleven pages total.


	10. Chapter 10: Fast & Furious

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

So it's been thirteen days since my Word trial was supposed to end. And I still have it. I don't get it either but I'm not gonna argue with it either! And I won't be shutting down my laptop anytime soon because, who knows, that might trigger it and it'll be gone. :( Anyway, I finally got Chapter 15 finished, thank my muse for descending, and I got Chapter 16 done as well! 17 is in the works and, before you know it, we'll be in_ Fast Five_! Enjoy this chapter! Y'all have earned it!

**Chapter 10**

Before she even entered the airport, Eve made a call to Wuji and had him start up all the necessities to overnight her second bike back to the States. She didn't know where she was staying yet so she had Wuji overnight her 2004 Suzuki Bandit 1200S to the only place in LA she knew would be safe: Harry's. With a note for Harry specifically, which basically read that if he called the cops or tried to do anything with her bike, she would shoot him. The flight from Kuala Lumpur's KUL to Los Angeles' LAX on Vietnam Airlines was long and taxing. Going through security, she felt like a terrorist and the price of the ticket alone was enough to piss her off. Seventeen hundred and thirty-six dollars! The earliest flight she could get was at 8:20 pm and she was slated to land back in California at half past nine the following morning. Twenty-eight hours and ten minutes, nonstop, and there was a screaming baby sitting in his mother's lap in the seat directly behind her. It was enough to make her sick. Every time she got on a plane, Eve always seemed to end up with an inconsolable baby screaming and crying behind her.

The moment the plane landed at LAX, she was on guard. Eve was certain she'd been pulled aside, dragged and detained in room by security until the FBI showed up to take her away. But nothing happened.

Eve made it through security without any trouble and stepped outside to breathe the free air of her home country. Totally relaxed, she bummed a cigarette off the first person she saw and laughed almost gleefully before she remembered just why she was back in LA. Pulling out her cell phone, she dialed Brian's number, hoping that it was his cell instead of a disguised office number. And hoped like hell it wasn't bugged. He answered and said he'd pick her up and, true to his word, he pulled up in front of her about twenty minutes later in the typical unmarked car FBI always used. The minute she got in, she couldn't help but laugh as she looked at him. His hair was cut and trimmed, and gone were the sneakers, shorts and T-shirts. Instead, he was in a nice black suit and appropriate footwear for a Fed.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Brian commented as they pulled out onto the highway. "You look pretty different yourself." Eve just shrugged. She didn't think she'd changed all that much. Sure, she was a much more relaxed person and her clothing was much more casual, very racer oriented – lots of leather pants and boots – than it used to be but she didn't really think she was all that different.

"Where are we?" she asked when the pulled into the cemetery.

"Letty's funeral," he answered and she whipped around to look at him.

"Why?" she demanded.

"Gotta watch for Dom." Eve nodded, that made sense. But that didn't mean she was happy about it.

He parked the car away from the funeral, with the rest of the FBI, and she sighed before getting out as well. Looking around, blinking at the blinding light, she took in the depressing setting before walking around the front of the car to stand net to Brian. It was an extremely small service. There were plenty of street racer's in attendance, the cars a dead give away, but none of them were Dom's. No, none of them were the classic muscle that Dom loved and, remembering the types of cars he had because of Han, Eve already knew he wasn't here. At least not in the view of the FBI. Brian was busy watching the service and, when she followed his line of sight, she immediately recognized Mia, who was softly crying from the front row of the service. With a bowed head and closed eyes, Eve began to mumble a prayer.

"Didn't know you were religious," Brian muttered beside her.

Eyes still closed, she snapped at him, "I'm not, but she was. It's called paying your respects, dumbass." She was still in the middle of paying her respects when another man walked up to Brian.

"Facial recognition software matched Toretto," he said before delivering the bad news, "about ten minutes after he crossed the border." That made Eve smirk; Dom wasn't as dumb as the rest of the FBI thought. "I don't get it. I thought he'd show." Shaking his head, he walked away and Eve asked Brian just who he was, being unfamiliar with the FBI's new LA branch.

"Mike Stasiak. Pencil pusher, total dickhead," he explained and she quirked a brow at him.

"He knows about your record, doesn't he?"

He hesitated before answering, "Yeah."

"Yeah." She nodded, knowing that was the only real reason Brian disliked Stasiak. She was distracted, however, when Brian looked over her shoulders to stare at the hills just beyond and above the funeral. Turning to look as well, she saw an oiler churning away but nothing else. "What is it?"

"He was here," he stated confidently.

"No shit," she retorted. "But he's not here now. Let's move," she added, tugging at his elbow and headed back to her side of the car.

"He'll go to Mia," he said as he started up the car and Eve just shook her head.

"Of course he will. Vince is still in jail, Leon is MIA, Jesse and Letty are…well…" she trailed off, not wanting to go there. There was no need to bring up the past with the horrible present, especially with where they were. "And his crew down in the Dominican are in hiding, mostly out of the country so you can't touch them. She's all he's got left. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out, Brian."

"Just thinking out loud, Eve. Geez, you'd think getting fired would relax you a bit," he teased, chuckling at her.

"Please," she snorted, "fired or retired, a _real _Agent just gets better."

"So what, I'm not a real Agent?"

"Never said that."

Looking at her, he smirked and said, "Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't. You're so paranoid, Barstow," she teased.

"You're still a bitch."

"And you're still a pussy." Looking at her, Brian smiled.

"Good to see you again. I kinda missed you." Eve looked over at him and shook her head before smiling as well.

"Yeah, I kinda missed you, too, punk," she admitted and was surprised to find that it was actually true. "So, tell me about why I'm here exactly."

"Arturo Braga," he told and reached behind him to grab a file from the backseat and passed it to her to look through. "While you were chasing me and Dom, FBI also had people going undercover for two years trying to nail this guy. All three came back in body bags."

"A charmer, just my type," she retorted sarcastically, reading over the information, pausing at a picture of Letty. What the hell was she doing in this file? "What's his deal?"

"He's moved more heroin across the border than Escobar did in ten years." Eve whistled, unfortunately impressed. "He's becoming one of the biggest national threats…and we don't even know what he looks like. No prints either. Not even a date of birth." Sighing, she closed the file and looked at him confusedly.

"So where do I come into this?" Brian remained silent and she shook her head at him. "Come on, Brian, I know you didn't call me back State-side just so I could say goodbye to Letty, especially since she didn't like me all that much anyway. We weren't that close, if you remember."

Brian chuckled amusedly, "Yeah, I remember."

"So…?" she pressed.

"So," he mimicked, much to her annoyance, "Braga needs drivers to move his shipments. I got a name, David Park but—"

"That's too common a name," she interjected. Slipping right back into her former Agent shoes, she told him, "If Braga needs drivers and your informant was reliable, have your boss cross-check traffic, illegal modifications, street racing. He'll have a record."

He looked at her with a triumphant smiled and said, "Already thought of that."

"Look at you! All grown up and using your big boy brain!" she gasped mockingly. "I'm so proud," she teased even more and he just shook his head at her antics. This was a side of Eve he'd never seen before. "Taught you good, kid."

"Fuck you!" he laughed and she couldn't help but laugh as well. "Look, I'm gonna need your help. Whether or not I get Dom and convince him to help, I need you with me on this." Unsure, he looked over at her and added, "Probably undercover."

"So I can end up like the last three Agents that went in?" she questioned and he nodded. "Sure, sounds like fun." Brian laughed at her, in complete disbelief, while she just grinned madly. "Now," she said, running a hand through her hair and reclining in the seat, "drop me off somewhere while you go to the office and get smarter." Brian laughed and drove to his house, telling her that she had free reign but that she shouldn't do anything he wouldn't.

Since Eve didn't know this new Brian, in her book, that didn't mean a whole lot.

The second Brian was out of sight, Eve immediately began changing into her racing clothes and called up Wuji. He was still annoyed with her for leaving on such short notice, but he got over it and went back to joking around with her. At least until she told him she was going to be gone indefinitely. That part hadn't gone so well but she promised to let him know what was up with her situation when she knew. After another ten minutes of bullshitting with him, she called up a cab and rode over to Harry's to get her bike. Harry was surprised, to say the least, when he read the note and practically groveled, assuring her that he hadn't called anyone, talked to anyone, and didn't even so much as breathe in the bikes direction. Eve just smiled; Harry really was still such a nervous man. As she started up her bike, revving the engine and enjoying the sound of the purr, she warned Harry again that if told anyone that she had been in his shop that she'd shoot him before taking off into the streets.

Eve drove around the whole day, re-familiarizing herself with the town, and even paused at Toretto's little garage/eatery where the whole team had worked. It was closed up. The windows were boarded up and the entrances into both the garage and the eatery were closed and locked with iron gates. Apparently, without all the team to work the garage, Mia wasn't able to afford the shop. Shaking her head, Eve revved the engine and headed back out into the city. Before she knew it, it was night and it was time to head out to the races. And, in LA, they really weren't that hard to find. Just like Miami, to find the races, all you had to do was follow the cars. The usual party was going on when she arrived and, as expected, she was receiving some very odd looks. Probably because she was cruising without a helmet on, just leaving the hood of her hoodie up.

"I think you in the wrong place, gurl," someone sneered to her right and she stopped the bike. Turning to look, she saw a black kid, probably a lot younger than her and clearly over flowing with confidence. Shit, he reminded her of Edwin.

"Am I?" she asked in a bored monotone that would've made Han proud.

"Yeah, 'ya are!" Eve scoffed and shook her head. He really was stupid.

"Why don't you put me in my place then?" she replied sarcastically, not believing he'd have the balls to do anything.

"You want some of this, bitch?" Glaring, Eve just revved her engine. No way was some punk ass kid going to call her a bitch and get away with it.

"Oh, I thought you'd never ask. Let's race." The kid immediately started laughing, as did the little crowd that had begun to surround them. "What's the matter? Scared?" The crowd 'ooh'd at that, shoving the kid around to make him prove himself.

"You ain't got a car, gurl!"

Eve shrugged, "Don't need one."

"The hell you don't!" he argued. "Where the hell you get that crotch rocket? A cereal box?" he laughed, pointing at her Bandit. Sneering, Eve revved the engine even harder and louder than before.

"What is it about driving cars that makes little boys such assholes?" she sneered. "This is the 2004 Suzuki Bandit 1200S. Horizontal in-line engine, four-stroke, five different speeds and can go from zero to a hundred faster than it'll take you to jerk off to the latest Playboy." The crowd immediately began cheering for Eve and laughing at the kid. Smirking, she revved the engine once again and told him, "And the torque? Awesome." Not to mention it was custom installed with NOS but he didn't need to know that. "So, come on, big boy," she teased, "race me."

With a scowl on his face, the kid nodded and told her, "What's the wager?"

"How much cash you win tonight?" she asked and he said none, but pulled out what he brought to bet with for the night. Four grand. "Fine. I win, I get the cash. You win, you get my bike."

"I don't want that thing!" he shouted. Eve rolled her eyes and sighed. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her cell phone and called Wuji. He wasn't too happy to be woken up in the early hours of the morning and she apologized, forgetting about the time difference. Once she explained that she was racing and needed to know how much cash she had stashed away, he calmed down and checked out for her. The second he gave her the number, a little over sixty grand, she hung up and looked at the kid. "What? Daddy not gonna loan his baby gurl the money?"

Ignoring the crowd's laughter, she lied, "I've got ten grand stashed away. Will that do?" The kid nodded once again, smirking at what he thought would be a very rich future.

"A'ight. It's on." Eve nodded and drove up to the spray painted start line, waiting patiently for the kid to show up with his car. When he finally did, Eve smiled and adjusted the mirrors on her bike so that she could see him in his driver's seat.

"What the hell you doin'?" he shouted confusedly, watching her carefully.

She looked over her shoulder and told him, "I just don't wanna miss that look on your face when I blow past 'ya."

The kid glared at her and gripped his wheel, revving his engine. Eve shook her head, smiling to herself, when the flagger walked up between them. The scantily clad Hispanic girl pointed at her opponent, who revved up, and then pointed at her. Eve nodded and revved, face completely blank as she stared ahead before checking out her mirror. The kid was nervous as hell, gripping his wheel and biting his bottom lip. Clearly, he was all talk and that would make this victory all the more sweeter. The flagger pulled out her bra from underneath her shirt, raised it high in the air – the cheers grew louder as both of them continued to rev in anticipation – looked at both of them before dropping it. Before her bra even hit the ground, Eve and the kid were flying past her, sending her skirt flying up above her waist.

* * *

It was the annoying vibrating of her cell phone on the hard wood of the end table that awoke Eve the following morning. Looking at her watch, she groaned at the offending time on the clock on the wall – it was far too early after a night of partying, in her opinion – before grabbing her phone. She had been at the races far longer than she had anticipated. After her win, and her gracious returning of at least a little bit of the kid's cash, she had been invited to the after party. One drink led to two, and two led to a lot more and, before she knew, Eve was crashing at the house to avoid driving her bike drunk. Taking in the area around her, she realized she was still at the house and groaned once again, the pounding in her head assuring her that she had a good time even though she really couldn't remember most of it.

Sitting up and holding her pounding head in her free hand, she answered, "This better be good."

"_I got Park,"_ came Brian's frantic voice on the other line.

"Excuse me?" She rubbed her eyes and swallowed tightly, feeling the urge to vomit.

"_I got David Park,"_ he repeated.

"And this important to me because why?" she questioned glibly.

"_Just get here!"_ he shouted, frustrated that Eve wasn't the hard-ass Agent he remembered.

"Brian, no! I can't—" But he had already hung up. Flopping back onto the sofa, she groaned miserably, "Fuck my life."

It took her a good ten to fifteen minutes to even get up the urge to leave the sofa and, when she finally did, her equilibrium was still quite off. After another ten minutes of perusing the kitchen cabinets and bathrooms, she finally found some pain killers and quickly downed them with a Gatorade she stole from the fridge before heading out the door. She was nervous about riding her bike; sure she'd driven her car with a hangover before but her motorcycle? That was something else entirely. After a bit of a wobbly start, that began with her missing the driveway entirely and jerking off into the road from the curb, she finally sobered up enough to weave her way through the streets of LA. Horns were honked at her but she didn't care, just smiled as she weaved in and out of the traffic just like she did back in Malaysia. Traffic really was the only downside of having a car, especially when the cops were on your ass. When she finally arrived at the FBI's LA branch building, she squealed to a spot in front of Brian. He had been waiting out front for her and jumped back when she stopped in front of him.

"Nice bike," he commented, a little stunned. "Where'd you get it?" he asked her as she pulled off her helmet.

"Had a friend pull some strings and get it shipped over to me," she answered vaguely as she hopped off, locking her helmet onto her bike and joined him on the sidewalk. Following Brian to his car, Eve pulled her sunglasses out of her leather jacket and slipped them on. "So, David Park, how do you know you got the right guy?"

Looking at her, he smirked and said, "He's driving a '98 Nissan with an illegal mod."

"Yeah," she laughed, "that's your boy. Address?" He told her and started out the car to set out.

She was quiet the entire drive over, still waiting for the pain killers to set in on her massive migraine. She did open her eyes however as they turned around the corner of LA Lucky Discount and the first thing she saw? A Nissan. Brian was grinning as he parked the car, immediately getting out to inspect the Nissan. Eve did the same, but she could tell from the look on his face that he was admiring the car more than inspecting it. She couldn't help but shake her head; he always was a sucker for a Nissan. The crashing of a window from above broke her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see a man hanging out of it by his feet.

"That your guy?" she asked but Brian was already running inside the building, gun in hand. Rolling her eyes, she muttered a curse under her breath and followed after him, cursing herself for leaving her gun at Brian's place the entire run up to the fourth floor. When she caught up with Brian, he was standing the doorway where the screams were coming from. Looking over his shoulder, she saw the person responsible for David Park's current position and her eyes widened. "Shit…"

"Bring him up, Dom," Brian said calmly, walking towards the ex-con. Park was still hanging out the window, shouting about how 'that' was all he knew. What 'that' was Eve had to admit she was very curious about. "Bring him up."

"You here to take me in, O'Connor?" Park was now cursing and Dom shook him, shouting at him to shut up.

"Brian, no!" she hissed at him as he lowered his gun.

Ignoring her, he said, "Letty was my friend, too."

"You weren't anyone's friend."

"Yo! Could you guys talk about this later and pull my ass up!" Park shouted frantically.

"She was running for this guy Braga and things went bad," he explained.

"What?" Eve gasped. "You never told me that!" she accused, but at least that explained why she saw her picture in Braga's file.

"There wasn't any time!" he shouted at her. Sighing, he looked back at Dom, who still hadn't even looked at them, or pulled Park inside for that matter, and told him, "I'm gonna get these guys, Dom. Now let me do my job and bring him up."

"I'm gonna kill this Braga," Dom replied, deathly calm. "And anyone else that gets in my way." Dom suddenly let go of Park and snuck out the door, barreling past Eve and knocking her over. Brian was hanging out the window when Eve gained her bearings and ran over to help him pull in Park.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Park repeated over and over again, even when Brian handcuffed him.

"So, what now?" she asked sarcastically, slamming the backdoor to Brian's car shut. Park was still shouting at them but Eve smacked her hand on the window and told him to shut up. He did so immediately, probably because Dom had said the same thing not but a few moments ago.

"We go back to headquarters. I'll take Park in for some questioning and you can get your bike, go back to my place," Brian told her.

"That's it?" Walking over to the passenger side, she stared at him incredulously. "That's it? I had to get up from a perfectly content sleep to help you arrest this punk just so you could tell me I could go back an hour later?" Scoffing, she shook her head at Brian, who was grinning at her. "You suck."

"You swallow," he retorted childishly.

"You wish, Barstow," she sneered before shaking her head, hiding a smile as she climbed back into the car.

About two hours later, Brian called her up and told her that Park had cracked. Apparently, Braga's number two, Ramon Campos, would be holding a street race in Koreatown the next night. The lucky winner got to fill a slot on Braga's team that would be trafficking the heroin between the US-Mexico border. Three drivers were already chosen from previous races – Tash Barilla, Dwight Mueller and Malik Zon – and Park was kind enough to get the FBI into the race. More specifically, he got Brian into the race. When she asked what kind of car he'd be racing, he just told her to meet him at the garage.

"Brian, you know I can't," she stated firmly. "I've still got a record and I bet your buddy Stasiak, not to mention Penning, would love to arrest me. Bilkins, too, if he hasn't retired yet."

"_He did,"_ he replied. _"Look, it doesn't matter. I told you I'd get your charges dropped and this is how I do that."_

"What do you mean? What's "this"?" she asked suspiciously.

Brian sighed, _"It was gonna be a surprise but since you're so impatient."_

"BRIAN!" she shouted.

"_See? Impatient!"_ he laughed.

"Brian, either you tell me right now or else…" She let the threat hang there and he chuckled.

"_Fine, fine. Geez, you really need to light up, Eve,"_ he replied. _"Look, here's the deal: you help me with this case, you're clean and clear. Penning said so himself."_ Eve took a breath and laughed as she let it out. _"Great, right?"_ he laughed back. _"So just get here, get someone to guide you to the garage and we'll get started."_

"Started on what?" she asked curiously, grabbing her leather jacket and heading out to her bike.

"_On building my car."_ She shook her head as she hung up, knowing that he was grinning madly on the other end.

P.S.: Nine pages total.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

Okay, so my Word is officially gone, which is why I haven't been around. Been busy trying to find a new program. I finally did and it works out great. Now, allow me to apologize for not updating is almost three months. College has started back up and I'm going five days a week, and I work six days a week; I literally don't have a day off! So my time to write is just...well, its extremely limited. Add that big earthquake we had here on the Eastcoast PLUS Hurricane Irene, my life has been pretty hectic. But the GOOD NEWS is that I've started writing _Fast Five_! And, since _F&F _is on tonight, in my area at least, I thought I'd reward y'all with a chapter before I go to bed, since I just got back from classes. Enjoy!

**Chapter 11**

Walking straight into the FBI building wasn't something she looked forward to doing ever since she went on the run a year ago. It wasn't something she even imagined herself doing but there she stood, smack dab in the middle of the bustling lobby, surrounded by Federal Agents. Some of which she recognized, and they definitely recognized her if the sneers and suspicious looks were any indication. Eventually, Eve squared her shoulders and strutted up the front desk and demanded to be taken to the garage where Agent O'Connor was waiting for her. After a couple of calls to check, a little Asian girl – she was just so damn tiny that it was hard to even think of her as a woman – nervously walked up to her, introduced herself as Sophie Trinh and guided her to the garage in total silence.

The second the garage was in sight, Sophie took off and Eve let out a breath she'd been holding; that hadn't been awkward at all. The moment she stepped inside, she laughed and shook her head. Eve wasn't at all surprised when she saw three similar cars with Brian was standing in the middle of them with a huge grin on his face, just like she'd thought he would. Shaking her head, she walked over and asked him just what the hell they'd be doing. Hours of nonstop overnight work, they finally finished and they stepped back to admire their handy work while they finally took a well-deserved break. Brian had a pretty fierce modified Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 and, Eve had to admit, she was proud of have helped him work on it. Shining up the car from hood to trunk with a rag, Eve whistled and shook her head.

"Damn, I do miss the impound lot." Brian laughed at her.

"How's the Mustang?" he wondered.

"Same as when you last saw it, just faster." Brian nodded and the two of them sat down, Brian bringing over two beers. Looking at the label, she smiled in astonishment. "Strongbow? How'd you get this?"

"Being FBI has perks, ya know," he retorted and she snorted.

"Yeah, I remember," she replied bitterly and took a long drag of her favorite beer before pulling out a cigarette. After lighting up, she offered one to Brian and he shook his head, telling her he'd actually quit for good this time around. Nodding, she commended him and reminded him to never smoke again because it was a filthy, disgusting habit. He just laughed her. "You know, I was always curious," she began. Hesitating, she looked at Brian who just nodded for her to continue. Steeling herself, she asked, "Why did you let Dom go that day?"

Brian stared at her a moment before looking at his beer and answered, "I don't know."

"Uh-huh," she toned and drank some more. "You know the difference between you and Dom?"

"He's complicated, I'm simple," he stated immediately, remembering telling Mia the same thing five years ago, and shrugged a little bit. Eve shook her head.

"No. Well, yes, actually, you _are_ quite simple," she teased and got a rag tossed her at her for her trouble. "The _main_ difference?" she continued and Brian nodded at her, curious to hear what she had to say. "You're just a shitty liar." The two stared off for a moment before Brian looked away, knowing without a doubt that Eve didn't believe him in the least when he said he didn't know why he'd let Dom go. She knew he was lying; somehow, she always knew. Downing the rest of her beer, Eve stood up and smacked Brian on his knee. "Call me when you need me, okay, Barstow?"

""I live my life a quarter-mile at a time"." Halfway to the door, she turned around and stared at Brian in confusion. "Dom, he told me that once. That for those few seconds, nothing in the world mattered and he was free." Eve nodded, sort of understand why Brian had let Dom go five years ago and not fully understanding at the same time. "I live my life a quarter-mile at a time"," he repeated.

Nodding slowly, she took and deep breath, stared at him and seriously said, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Brian snorted and shook his head at her. "Just be careful tonight, all right?"

"You know me," he replied.

"Yeah," she scoffed, "that's why I'm worried. Call me," she stressed and left the garage, feeling a lot better than she had when she first came in.

* * *

Brian did call her eventually and she met him back at the garage. The second she walked in and saw his Nissan, she asked just what the hell had happened. He told her about how he was taken to Campos, along with two other racers and, not that it was that surprising, Dom. Campos went on some speech about how "good drivers are a dime a dozen" and that Braga had him looking for someone who drove their ten-second car not in a straight line, but pushed it and made it through places no one else would take it. "Real drivers", he'd said, "the best drivers period". In Eve's opinion, Campos sounded like an arrogant prick who'd let his position as second-in-command go to his head a bit too much. Apparently, Dom tried to start some trouble, asked what they were hauling because a "real driver knows exactly what's in his car". Campos told him that whoever won the race got the information before his assistant, Gisele Harabo, gave them all a GPS and sent them on their way to race, in the open public streets.

"Shit! I wish I could've seen that!" she exclaimed excitedly. "In Malaysia, it's no big deal because we do it all the time. But it's done on bikes, they're smaller and easier to work through traffic. You and Dom racing in open traffic? In those supped-up cars? Shit, why the fuck didn't you call me?"

"It was pretty intense," he laughed in reply. "I almost hit a couple people taking a shortcut through some alley."

"Smooth move, Barstow," she snickered. "Any other problems?"

"The other two drivers were killed, that count?" She shook her head and smacked him on his arm for that smartass rhetorical question. "Well, there was this downhill trip I had to make when I hit a dead end." Eve laughed as she got up and checked out the hood of the car. The damage was obvious but what the hell had he hit exactly? "I think they were doing some construction or something cause, uh…yeah," he trailed off, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

"And Dom beat you?" she asked. Brian sighed and shook his head.

"He cheated. I had him beat and he bumped my car, made me swerve and lose control." Eve shook her head. That definitely wasn't the Dom she remembered. Crossing her arms, she leaned against the dented and filthy hood of the Nissan. "I had him. I had him…"

"Would you stop focusing on that?" she told him. "It's not like this is the first time you lost to him," she added, trying to be reassuring and wincing as she realized that, that particular comment probably hadn't helped matters.

"No, but the first time was fair! "Winning's winning" my ass," he muttered under his breath and Eve rolled her eyes at his childish behavior. "Doesn't matter anyway. I'm in the race now and he can't stop me."

Brow furrowed, she looked at him and asked, "How'd you get in the race? I thought Braga only needed four drivers." Brian just shrugged.

"I got one of the drivers, that hick Dwight Mueller, arrested for distribution of meth," he explained nonchalantly.

Crossing her arms, she replied, "Uh-huh, and what did "that hick Dwight Mueller" do to piss you off so bad that you got him with a phony Section 11378 felony charge?" she questioned curiously. Brian just glared at her and Eve backed off, hands in that air. "Okay then…but you know it's never gonna stick, right?"

"It's not supposed to!" he shouted at her. Eve snickered and set about starting to fix the damage to the Nissan.

"Calm down and get your ass over here to help, Barstow."

"Why do you do that?" he asked, picking up a torque wrench and walking over.

"Do what?" she returned, totally focused on fixing the dents in the hood.

"Call me Barstow." Eve paused in her work and just shrugged.

"Don't know. But you can call me Baltimore, if that makes you feel better." Shaking his head at her smirking face, Brian shoved her a little before starting to fix his car. After all, he had to meet Campos later that night. "Or maybe I should start calling you "Buster"."

"Don't even," he snapped and she chuckled.

"So, am I in for another night of guarding your house or am I actually going to be doing something fun?" she asked curiously and Brian smiled at her. That couldn't be good.

* * *

According to Campos' assistant, when the GPS called, Brian was meant to follow. So, when the GPS called him, he grabbed Eve and they went. Luckily enough, they were taking a break and relaxing at the garage after some excruciatingly long hours of trying to fix the Nissan. They were close but there was still some work yet to be done. Another car was in the garage and, after some convincing, Brian managed to get the keys to it and the two headed out into the night. The GPS led them to the races but Gisele had found them and told them to follow her into the warehouse. Hip-hop blasted at them the second the doors opened and, as she led them upstairs, they realized that the warehouse was actually a club.

"Have fun," she told them and walked away into the crowd, towards the elevators.

"She's a regular sweetheart," Eve shouted over to music sarcastically.

"Come on," Brian said and nudged for her to follow him.

Taking a deep breath, Eve squared her shoulders and followed Brian through the crowd. She rolled her eyes however when Brian led her to a pool table and started playing with some guy. Arms crossed, she leaned against the wall and watched him, bored out of her mind. Pool really wasn't her game. Luckily, ten minutes later, Eve spotted a familiar bald head. Pushing off the wall, she tapped Brian on the shoulder as he leaned down and shot. Eve nodded to the stairwell and he looked over, seeing Dom headed for the bar. Passing up the rest of his game, Brian left the table and both he and Eve followed Dom, sitting at the bar just as he got himself a Corona.

"That's too bad about Dwight," Brian told him casually. "Having the Feds raid your house the same night you make the team. So unfortunate."

"I wish I could say I was surprised to see you two here," Dom replied and Brian just smirked proudly. "What's to stop someone from telling them you're a cop?"

Brian looked at him and stated, "Probably the same thing that's keeping me from telling them why you're really here."

Ordering herself a whiskey sour, Eve added, "Just for the record, I'm not a Fed anymore." He just laughed in disbelief and drank some of his bear. "It's true. I've been hiding out in Malaysia the past year."

Looking her up and down, Dom asked, "Seriously?" Eve nodded and sipped calmly at her drink. "Then why you rollin' with him?"

Eve looked him dead in the eyes and asked, "Why do you care?" Dom stared at her a moment before looking away and drinking his beer, as if to say that he didn't care. That was when a hand clapped Brian on his back and jerked all of them from their pensive silence.

"What up, fellows?" Campos greeted, slapping hands and man-hugging both Brian and Dom. Brian asked him how he was doing but Campos just looked Eve up and down, smirking. "What up, mami?"

"Not mami," she snarked seriously, remembering her first words to Hector. Campos laughed at her and asked the three if they were having a good time. Of course, the guys answered and she just nodded with a polite smile.

"Come on, let's have a better time." He started to lead them away but stopped, holding his hand out to Eve. Confused, she asked him what was wrong. "Sorry, sweetheart, but you have to stay here."

"Nah, its cool, man. She's a driver, too," Brian assured him.

"Don't care. She can't come," Campos stated. Brian looked Eve in the eye for a moment before leaning towards Campos, whispering to him. The man looked her up and down once again before nodding, resuming his guiding of them to a private sitting area.

"What you say to him?" she whispered curiously to Brian.

"That you like to make out with chicks when you're drunk."

With a deep frustrated breath, she gritted, "You are so dead." Brian just shook his head and gave her a wide shit-eatting grin, taking a seat to the left of Campos while Dom took the one directly across from him.

"How's your car? It took a nasty bump." If that was a joke of some kind, no one could tell because Campos wasn't smiling.

"It'll be ready," Brian answered, Eve nodding reassuringly.

"I also heard you just got out of County." Looking at Brian, she saw him nod and knew that, that was fake background at work.

Dom suddenly piped up, "You know a guy named Jim Garcia?"

"Nah," Brian immediately denied. He sounded nonchalant but, sitting next to him, Eve could practically feel how tense and nervous he became. "Big place. Lots of names, lots of faces." Dom just nodded sardonically and took a long drag of his beer.

"And you," Campos continued, turning to Dom, "you're wanted by a lot of people, homes."

"Yeah, that kind of heat can't be good for business." Eve nudged Brian hard in his ribs, silently demanding him to shut up, but he barely felt it and continued to stare at Dom.

"Yeah, well, that depends on how you look at things," Dom told him calmly. "I go down, I do time. I do _real_ time." Brian snorted under his breath, knowing that was a jab at his previous record, both real and fake. "I don't know about your other drivers, but when I see flashing lights in my mirror, I _don't_ stop." Leaning back in his chair, Campos observed the two precision drivers, looking back and forth between them.

"Do you know each other?" Besides her, Brian snorted again while she muttered how much of an understatement that was under her breath.

"He used to date my sister," Dom explained and Campos nodded.

"I see." Looking at Brian, he seriously told him, "You're a lucky man."

"How's that?" Campos just poured himself and Brian a shot, since Dom and Eve already had drinks.

"You're still breathing." Dom chuckled and drank his beer while Brian just sat there, knowing that was true. But for how long was the real question. "To the ladies we've loved and the ladies we've lost. Salud," he toasted. While the other two did their shot, Eve looked across the table at Dom and frowned. From the look on his face, she knew he was thinking about Letty and that look, sheltered though it was, was enough to break her heart a little bit. And, damn it all, it made her think of Han, if he would ever – _could_ ever – love her the way Dom loved Letty.

"So," Brian said, snapping her back to reality, "what's Braga about?"

Campos leaned back in his chair and smiled, telling them, "You know, he's just one of us. Came up from the streets, down for el barrio. Now he's a shot caller. The boss of bosses." He sounded so enamored and the smile on his face was so content, almost smug. "See all these cats in here? Any one of them would die for Braga."

"Including you?"

He looked and Brian and answered, "Especially me." It was a moment later that a beefy looking guy walked up and leaned down, whispering in Campos' ear. "Enjoy the party, fellows, chica," he said as he rose to his feet and began to leave them. "Club's yours. Whatever you want, booze, broads, it's all good." As soon as he was out of site, a couple of girl's – definitely chasers and skanks, which made Eve roll her eyes in disgust – walked over and sat down with them.

"Braga's mine," Brian stated, looking Dom straight in his eyes. "I'm taking the whole house down."

"Good luck," was all Dom said in reply. Annoyed, Brian rose to his feet and nudged Eve to follow him. She nodded but, instead of following like he'd hoped, she waved him off and looked across the table of booze at Dom. Brian looked between the two of them, Dom not even acknowledging Eve, and once again tried to get her to follow him but she refused. With a suffering sigh, he stalked off to follow Campos.

"It was my fault," Eve stated and Dom glanced at her. "Letty, it's my fault she's dead," she reiterated. Leaning forward, elbows on his knees, Dom stared hard at her; she had his full attention now. "I was in the Dominican last year, working a case involving some heists that were very similar to the one's you pulled five years ago." In the back of his mind, Dom knew exactly what she was implying and he knew that Eve wasn't a bluffer. Dom knew that she knew he was the master of those heists. "But I got side-tracked and, because of that, you were never arrested and she came back here and she got killed." He continued to stare at her, taking it all in. "It's my fault. I'm sorry, Dom."

Calmly, he asked, "Why are you here?" Her brow furrowed; that wasn't the reaction she had been expecting.

"Brian called me back," she confessed, "said he'd get my charges dropped if I helped him out."

"What charges?"

"Evading arrest, aiding and abetting."

"Aiding and abetting who?" She shook her head, poured herself a shot, quickly downed it and then rose to her feet.

"You," she said and then walked off into the crowd, leaving Dom staring after her in confusion.

* * *

Before Brian left his house that morning, he and Eve sat down to have breakfast together. It was a total déjà vu moment for her but their situations were reversed. She felt like the inexperienced punk while Brian was the experienced Fed. While he explained that he'd snuck into a private room where Campos had been drinking with another man and stole a shot glass, she took it all in. She honestly couldn't believe how her life had changed so drastically over the past five years, how reversed their situations were now. Even as he explained how there'd been two sets of prints on it, one maybe belonging to the mysterious Braga, and Sophie was going to run both beyond Interpol – Eve didn't envy the girl at all because that meant she'd have to contact individual agencies, which could take weeks – she was surprised by just how much Brian had changed. And a little scared by it as well. It was two hours later that the very person she'd been pondering sent her a txt message of a bunch of numbers and letters.

"What the hell?" she wondered. Dialing Brian's cell, she was stunned to find it went straight to voicemail. "You better answer this time." She tried once more and got the same response. "Son of a bitch!" she cursed and kicked the baseboards of the living room. Taking a breath, she paced and pulled up that txt message again. Why wasn't he answering? What did it mean? What did the txt mean, for that matter? Was it a code? An anagram maybe? Coordinates perhaps, but to where? No, not coordinates but then what was it? And that was when it hit her. "I am so stupid," she toned wrote down the message before calling Wuji.

"_You have got to stop calling while I'm sleeping,"_ he answered groggily.

"No time, Wuji! I need you do your magical computer shit and track me down a car. Right now!" she ordered frantically. Wuji yawned and told her to slow down, clearly not understanding the severity of the relationship. "Wuji, get your ass up and search this license plate number for me! It's life or death, okay?"

"_Okay, okay,"_ he gripped. _"Don't get your panties in a twist, eh?"_ Growling under her breath, she waited a moment until he asked her for the numbers and gave it to him. Putting him on speaker phone, Eve quickly got dressed in her wife-beater, skinny jeans, black leather boots and her racing jacket. _"Not a car, Tuyet. It's a truck."_

"A truck?" she echoed confusedly.

"_Yeah, a big rig, one of those eighteen-wheelers used for hauling shit."_

"Hauling?" she whispered. And then it hit her again. "Like four cars." That was why Brian's phone went straight to voicemail when she tried to call him: no signal in those things. Campos was moving the drivers for Braga. The operation was going down and it was going down right now. "Any way you can send its coordinates to my phone?"

"_You wake me up at this un-Godly hour and you can't even give me a challenge? You disappoint me, Tuyet,"_ he said. A moment later, she heard her phone beep and smiled as she pulled up the GPS. There it was, clear as day. _"Is it tracking?"_ he questioned sarcastically, knowing very well it was.

"Yeah, thanks, Wuji. I owe you one," she told him as she grabbed her helmet and ran outside to her bike.

"_Just stop calling me when I'm sleeping and we'll call it even,"_ he replied. Hanging up, Eve put attached her headphones to the phone and then put her helmet before climbing on and starting the engine. Looked like she had to go save Brian.

P.S.: Eight pages total.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

OMG! I am so sorry, you guys! I didn't even realize it had been a year since I updated this! You have my deepest and sincerest apologies! I'm working on _Fast Five_ right now, at the very beginning of it and I have some parts mapped out but others not. But I do know how I want it to end.

Anyway, I also just want to say that, if the opening of this chapter comes off as racist, I apologize in advance. I admit that I am an American, born and raised, and the idea of anyone being able to live in my country illegally, get all the same things I get because I basically pay for them to be here (evil taxes) but none of the punishments pisses me off. This isn't specific to the group of people mentioned here, but to all foreigners. Since I am an American, I don't know but it can't be that hard to just go to the local Immigration office and get a green card, right? I mean, if I decided I wanted to live in your country for a better life - I'm seriously considerig getting my green card/visa and living in the UK - but didn't get green card or whatever, didn't become a legal citizen of your country and you had to pay for me to live there illegally with your hard earned tax dollars, I bet you'd be annoyed as well.

I believe that if you don't want racial slurs and stereotypes to be what defines your country or heritage, than do the right thing and do the exact opposite of what people expect of you in spite of those things. Example: my neighbor is Spanish; one of my now ex-friends had the nerve to ask him if he was a border jumper when his great-grandparents actually emigrated from Spain to Texas, making him an American. Being the cool man that he is, he just snapped back with a witty joke and kicked the bitch out of his house, as politely as possible, and I never talked to her again. But you get my point right? He gets those comments all the time because of his Spanish decent, people look at him and immediately think he must be a border jumper or some other not-so-nice words that I won't say even though he was actually in the Army and served his country, in actual combat. But do people ask that? No, they just assume.

This little rant of mine got way off base but, basically, if I offend anyone, I apologize in advance and want you to know that I meant no offense at all. Oh, and my information regarding the amount of drugs and the Drug Wars? All from the fabulous Wikipedia. Enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter 12**

About seven hours later, Eve was almost in Mexico. Given that her charges were still standing, it would take a little creativity to get across the border. Hell, if illegals could sneak into her country then why couldn't she sneak into theirs? It shouldn't be that hard. Right? Besides, her reasons were more important than wanting a better life or making more than ten cents an hour in a sweat shop. Well, maybe Brian didn't rank above patriotism or idealistic dreams but he was important because he was her ticket to a clean record. That, more than anything else, outranked whatever moral beliefs she had regarding illegally entering another country. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time she'd entered a country illegally so what did adding one more to the list matter?

Eve didn't know why she was so surprised when she discovered she'd be breaking into Mexico. Braga needed drivers to transport his drugs and, it was a known fact to the FBI, that drug cartels in Mexico controlled seventy-percent of the foreign narcotics that flowed into the US. Not to mention that the State Department estimated that ninety-percent of cocaine in the US transited from Mexico via Colombia, the main cocaine producer. It had been three years since the Mexican Drug War began and the cartels were still going strong. Drugs are a thirteen to almost fifty billion dollar industry and at least ten percent of something is better than one-hundred percent of nothing. Mexico was at the heart of it all. So, again, why Eve was surprised that Campos had all the drivers smuggled near the Mexico so they could drive in, she didn't know.

It was night time when she finally caught up to the truck. Falling back into her old patterns as a Fed, Eve took some higher ground and flipped open the visor on her helmet. Down below was a shitty little warehouse. The truck was parked and there were a few cars, some people milling about, but nothing else. She had to wait so, cutting off the engine of her bike, she parked it, got off and sat down to wait patiently. There was nothing she could do until Brian decided to get in touch with her and who knew when that would happen, if it happened at all. Putting her phone on vibrate, just in case, she waited for about two hours, almost fell asleep, when her phone finally buzzed.

"Brian! Where the hell are you?" she hissed, keeping her voice low. She was high up in the canyons, didn't need her voice echoing to Braga's people below.

"_I need you to meet me, now!"_ he shouted back, panic clear in his voice.

"No, first you tell me what the hell is going on because, right now, I am sitting on a cliff looking down at some of Braga's men!" she shouted back.

"_What? You're at the warehouse?"_ he echoed confusedly.

"YES!"

"_You got my message,"_ he realized and sighed. _"Good, but look, the plan I had in mind, it went south. I need you meet me and I'll explain everything but not right now."_

"Why not?"

"_Because I just hijacked a Hummer with sixty-million dollars worth of heroin!"_ he shouted agitatedly and she ran a hand through her hair. Fuck, this was definitely not good. _"Look, you need to get away from there as fast as possible before they spot you and kill you. I'm on my way back to L.A., you do the same and I'll call you when I got a spot for us to meet, okay?"_

"Okay. Just be careful," she told him and hung up, climbing back onto her bike. Starting up the engine, she quickly spun her bike around and drove as carefully and quickly as she could away from the warehouse.

* * *

Speeding cut her time in half and, before she knew it, Eve was back in LA. When her phone buzzed, Eve pulled over to the shoulder and answered. It was Brian and he told her where to meet him. Anxious, she hung up as soon as he told her where he was and got back on the road to find him. Eventually, cars became fewer and fewer until she was the only one of the dirt road. Turning a corner, she saw two figures and, when she stopped, both looked at her from the back of the Hummer. Taking off her helmet and shaking out her hair, Eve joined the two and nodded at Dom before shaking her head at Brian. When she saw the trunk filled with packages of heroin, she whistled and put her hands on her hips.

"So, that plan you had," she began casually, "what was it again?"

"You were gonna be back up but…yeah…" he trailed off and sighed.

"Yeah," she echoed mockingly. "And where the hell is your Nissan?"

"Dom blew it up," he answered. Turning to Dom, he just look at her a moment before looking down at the heroin.

"I'm sure he had his reasons then," she replied cautiously. Brian just nodded a little, assuring her that it was for a good reason, and eyed up Dom's back.

"We gotta get you to a doctor," Brian told him.

Dom shook his head and answered, "We gotta find a place to hide this." Moving around to Dom's back, Eve didn't wait for permission and just pulled off enough of his jacket that she could see his gunshot wound. She poked at it and sighed when she heard him inhale sharply.

"Well," she said, pushing his leather jacket back up, "I think I can help with at least one of our problems, boys. But what about this shit?"

"I got a spot," Brian said before he and Dom put the heroin back into the back of the Hummer. "Follow us," he told Eve and got back into the driver's seat of the Hummer. Groaning, Eve walked back to her bike.

"You know, my ass isn't the only thing getting sore from all this following you have me doing, Barstow," she shouted over her shoulder. Inside the Hummer, Brian was chuckling to himself and just honked the horn at her. In the side mirror, he saw her give him the finger, making him laugh even more. Climbing onto her bike, she put her on her helmet and mumbled, "I miss my Mustang."

She did as she was told though, not liking it one bit, and followed Brian all the way to the police impound lot. The second she saw the sign, however, she backed off and parked, waiting for him and Dom to come back out. Eve only waited for a good five minutes though because a modified Subaru Impreza WRX STI soon came speeding out of the lot. Eve only caught a glimpse but she knew it was Brian and immediately gave chase, following him once again. She followed him all the way to some dingy little shack of a house, probably one of the many safe houses the FBI used. After parking her bike, Eve got off and watched as Brian got out of the driver's side, of course, grinning at her like an idiot. Now they could add grand theft auto to their growing list of violations because, if the broken window on the car was any indication, the guard at the lot didn't give him the keys.

"He owed me a ten-second car," Brian stated, a shit eating grin on his face as Dom went into the little shack.

"Men," she mumbled and nodded at the house behind her. "So, what is this dump?"

"My other place," he answered. Eve quirked a brow in confusion; sighing, he added, "No one at headquarters knows about this place. It's just someplace I can go and relax, or work out some stuff with cases, store stuff, ya know, the usual."

"Right," she toned skeptically and followed after Dom inside the house. It was an absolute wreck, filthy disgusting and cluttered with junk. "How long can you keep the heroin there?"

"I got a forty-eight hour hold on it." She nodded, mildly impressed. It was a smart move to put the stuff in the police impound lot; it was the last place Penning, Campos, and anyone else would look. Before going into the house, Brian pulled out his cell and sent a quick txt message to someone. A moment later, he got a reply that must have been good because he told her that he had someone coming to help with Dom's shoulder.

"Just out of curiosity, how'd you guys get across the border?" Eve asked as they went inside. "I know for a fact that there are helicopters and surveillance cameras that scan for heat signatures."

"Blind spots," Brian answered. "That Gisele chick had another driver for Braga, Fenix, lead us through these underground tunnels."

"I highly recommend telling Penning about those," she commented lightly. "And just how did Dom get shot?" Brian just told her that he had confronted Fenix, said that only pussies used nitromethene and, after some hushed conversation, Dom's car blew up – something Dom explained he'd set up with his own nitro and the cigarette lighter. The other three cars, including Brian's, blew up as well. It was after that, that Braga's men began to shoot and Dom got hit trying to go after a fleeing Fenix. "So, besides the Hummer full of heroin, the shoot-out, and Dom blowing up your car, is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"Yeah, Fenix killed Letty."

* * *

"The bullet's not in there. I'm gonna clean it and stitch it up," Mia explained. Apparently, she was the only one Brian trusted to call to help. He also apparently didn't trust in Eve's abilities enough to clean and stitch a gunshot wound. "It's going to hurt."

Smirking a little, Dom bemusedly pointed out, "I bet you're going to enjoy this."

"A little," she answered mock-conspiratorially.

Eve looked over her shoulder at Brian, sharing an amused smile with him, before turning back to cooking her part of dinner. The moment Dom was stitched, Mia joined Eve and began preparing a salad. Dom and Brian went outside to cook on the grill. When the table was set and the food was made, the girls grabbed some beers and the group sat down. It was just like the old days, with a few important people missing from the table when they all sat down. Their presence didn't go unnoticed, though none of them spoke about it. Dom must have been particularly distracted by this fact because he reached out to fill his plate first and Mia gaped at him.

"Dom, what are you doing?" she asked in disbelief and he paused, unsure. "You reached first, you have to say grace." He smiled in amusement and sighed, stunned that he'd forgotten his own rule.

Clasping his hands, he said, "Thank you, Lord, for blessing this table."

"With food," Mia added for him, "family and friendship." The four looked at each other somberly before Eve cleared her throat.

"Let's eat," she said, forcing a smile onto her face. The others slowly nodded, Brian patting her lightly on the back, before piling food onto their plates.

For the most part, dinner was a quiet affair. There was no laughter, except the girls laughing at the men for the stupid mess they had gotten themselves into. Somehow or another, they'd found humor in the bizarre circumstances of their current situation. A few topics that did come up were what everyone did over the past five years. Mia explained that she had to drop out of college and take another job just to keep up with the mortgage payments on the house, despite the money he and Letty had sent to her. Dom apologized and promised that he would make things right for her as well. He then told her about what he did in the Dominican, sending Eve a few covert looks throughout his story. She remained silent. When it was Brian's turn, he told them, with quite a bit of humor, about how Eve chased him for two years and then how he and his old friend Roman "Rome" Pierce helped the FBI and Customs on a case. He explained that his helping of that case got his charges dropped and, with some money they never turned in from the case, he and Rome opened their own garage in Miami. Upon Eve asking what happened to it, how he came to be in the FBI, he dodged and said it was complicated. Mia then asked Eve what she had been up to and, reluctantly, Eve explained her part in the Dominican case – leaving out her relationship with Han and Letty knowing about her presence – before running and hiding out in Malaysia.

"The races there are insane," she explained enthusiastically. "The things we do there, you gotta see to believe."

"And it's all on motorcycles?" Mia asked curiously.

"Cars are seen occasionally, but most Mat Rempit are motorcyclists," she replied, grinning. "Don't get me wrong. I don't love riding my bike more than driving my car but, gotta to say," she added, grinning even wider, "its a lot of fun. You can do a lot more on a bike than a car, too."

Scoffing, Brian asked disdainfully, "Like what?" Eve leaned forward on her arms and smirked.

"Like stunts," she replied. Eve went onto tell them about a few of the stunts that she could do. One was the basic wheelie, another was driving while lying flat on the seat called 'Superman', and another was standing on the seat with one leg during a wheelie called 'Scorpion'. There was another one she loved called 'wikang' but she decided to leave that to his imagination. Brian scoffed in disbelief and shook his head, taking a drink of his beer.

"No way could you do that," he stated firmly.

"Oh, really?" she questioned mockingly.

"Yeah, really," he snapped back with a smile. "The Eve Trudeau I remember, doing those stunts? No way."

Eve shook her head and leaned back in her seat, coyly replying, "I've got moves you've never seen." Mia laughed outright at that while Brian just scoffed again, drinking more of his beer. When dinner was through, the girls cleared the table and Mia began to clean the dishes when Eve brushed her off. "I got this, you go ahead," she told her and nodded to where Brian was sitting alone. Dom had wandered off to the garage for some peace so they had a moment to be alone.

"Thanks." Mia smiled at her before walking over to Brian, joining him at the table. Eve smiled at the two of them before turning around, quickly getting to work on the dishes. She still couldn't believe her current situation. She was on the run from the law and yet she was at Brian's home – well, the secret second house couldn't really be called a home since it was more of a walking death trap with all the shit piled up inside – and he was a Fed now, and both of them shared a meal with the Toretto's. Life sure had a funny way of working out, she mused to herself. It was the obnoxious ringing of Brian's cell phone that interrupted her good mood.

"Brian, answer your God damn phone, will ya?" she groaned, hearing it ringing numerous times. She was so absorbed in the dishes that she didn't hear Dom come back into the house.

Dom slowly stalked towards Brian and asked, "When were you gonna tell me?"

"Dom, what are you doing?" Mia questioned curiously. The rest of the group had Eve's full attention now as she dried her hands and turned to see what was up.

"When were you gonna tell me you were running Letty?" Dom pressed, ignoring his sister.

"Let me explain," Brian said, hands out in front of him.

"When were you gonna—" Dom suddenly reached out and grabbed Brian by the back of his neck and threw him into the cabinets behind him. "—TELL ME?!"

"Dom, what the fuck!" Eve shouted and tried to go help Brian, but Dom pushed her back towards Mia. Stunned, she didn't move as Mia helped her to her feet. She just stared in horror, dumbfounded. As Brian got to his feet, Dom walked up and grabbed him again. This time, by his throat, and pushed him against the wall.

"Dom, stop!" Mia shouted.

"You don't understand," Brian choked out.

"I don't understand?" he replied calmly. Brian pushed at Dom's face, trying to break free but it was to no avail. Eve tried to go help him one more but Mia just grabbed her and held her back, not wanting her to get pushed around by Dom again.

"STOP!" Eve screamed, struggling to get away from Mia. With a grunt, Brian managed to push Dom off him and both went tumbling, Dom to the ground while Brian fell into the table and rolled over it onto the ground. Dom was on him instantly, holding him down and punching him.

"Dom, stop it! Please STOP!" Mia screamed tearfully. Dom got one more hit in before Brian deflected his next hit, holding his arm to the side and wrapped his legs around Dom's neck. Unable to break free, Dom stood up, taking Brian with him before slamming him back into the ground. While Brian is writhing in pain, Dom pushed his legs off him and swung his arm back to punch him again when Brian held his hands out in front of him.

"She did it for you, Dom! She did it for you!" Brian shouted, out of breath and in pain. Dom paused and slowly backed away from Brian, waiting for an explanation. "Letty came to me to clear your name in exchange for bringing down Braga," he explained with a scowl before shouting, "She just wanted you to come home!" Brian collapsed to the ground while the brother and sister stared at each other in shock. As Dom turned and walked away, Mia hesitantly following after him, Brian kicked the wall next him. "I'm sorry, Dom! I'm sorry!" he yelled. Moving to stand over him, Eve crossed her arms and looked at the door where the Toretto's just exited.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Eve asked calmly. Brian sat up and looked at her, seeing her squared shoulders and tense stance. She was holding something in, something back, and that was never good. Not for him, at least.

"You didn't need to know," he answered slowly.

"I didn't need to know?" she echoed. Letting out a breath, she shook her head and started heading for the door. Panic rising in him, Brian rose to his feet.

"Where you going?" Eve paused at the door way and looked at him over her shoulder.

"You don't need to know." Brian sighed and looked at the ground, running his hands over his head. "Is she why you made me come back? Promised to clear my charges?" she asked curiously. "I mean, with Letty dead, you didn't have a driver on the inside and you did say you might need me for some undercover work…"

"It wasn't like that," he stated immediately.

"Then what was it, Brian?! Huh?!" she shouted, turning around to face him fully. It was in that moment that he saw her face, saw the look of hurt and betrayal written all over it. "I was perfectly fine overseas but you said you could help me in exchange for helping you, so here I am." Arms spread wide open, she stared at him and sighed. "Why am I here?" He remained silent, looking at the floor. "Tell me!"

Almost helplessly, he sighed, "I needed help." Eve stared at him, lowering her arms. "You were FBI before I even thought about being a detective. You have more experience and you're a hell of a lot smarter than me."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she told him firmly. "Why, Brian?"

"I thought if…I _did_ want you to take Letty's place." Eve scoffed and shook her head, fists clenched, anger rising. "I admit it, okay? I wanted you to take Letty's place and the deal would've been the same – your charges would've been dropped. But…but I didn't expect Dom to…" He didn't want to say it, admit that Dom showing up and doing the things that he'd done had ruined his plans.

"To what? Start his own investigation? Want revenge?" she finished for him, mockingly. "Letty was his girlfriend, practically his wife! They did everything together and her dying…" Licking her lips, Eve looked at the ground. "Being separated from her, whether it was by choice or not, it hurts like hell. It hurts to talk, it hurts to _breathe_. And when she died, it was like a piece of him died, too." Brian eyed her, taking in her almost vulnerable looking form, and it hit him – the reason she understood Dom's pain so well was because she went through it herself, or was. Either way, it startled him to see a soft side to Eve, a human side. He always remembered as this cold-shouldered bitch, tough as nails. Sure, she was more laid back now but, apparently, it was all a front.

"So where do we go from here?" he asked miserably, deciding to move onto another subject.

"Well," she sighed, and discreetly wiped at her eyes, trying not to think of Han, "first of all, you need to go back to headquarters."

"I'm gonna be in trouble," he stated and she nodded. No point in arguing with that. "Penning is gonna kill me." Groaning, he pulled at his hair and asked, "What the hell am I gonna tell him?"

"If I know Penning, and I do, he's going to want you to give him the heroin," she explained. "He'll want to splatter it all over the media, get a few hundred pounds more off the street, but your boy Braga is just gonna send another shipment next week and the week after that, and so on and so forth." Brian nodded in agreement as she shrugged. "It's just the way it is."

"So what do we do?" he asked despondently.

"What do you think you should do?" she returned. Brian paused and looked at her a moment, silently asking if she was serious about wanting to hear his opinion, before slowly thinking it through.

"Use it," he answered cautiously. He didn't sound too sure but, as the idea swam around a bit more, he nodded confidently. "Yeah. Yeah, we use the shipment to lure Braga out, take out the head of a multi-billion dollar cartel."

"And how are you going to do that?"

"The only way would be a hand-to-hand exchange with Braga."

"He'll never show," she argued objectively.

"He can't afford not to." On this point, Eve nodded in agreement.

"You need a plan." Looking at Brian, she sighed and shook her head. "I'm guessing you've already got one, huh?" He just nodded.

"There's gonna be a price though," he told her and she looked at him curiously. Looking her dead in the eyes, he stated, "We bag Braga, you and Dom walk."

Shaking her head, she told him outright, "Penning will never go for that."

"He can't afford not to," he repeated, smirking at her.

"So what do you want me to do in the meantime?" she asked, watching as Brian began to head out the door. Walking back, he asked for her cell, which she handed over confusedly. After a moment, Brian handed it back to her and started back for the door.

"Call Dom," he told her. Eve began to stammer a refusal but he cut her off. "Just call him and tell him I have a plan, okay? Get him here. Trust me, Eve."

""Trust me, Eve"," she mimicked under her breath. "Like I haven't heard that before," she muttered before sighing and dialing the number. _This better work,_ was her last thought before Dom answered his cell.

P.S.: Nine pages total.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

Okay, everyone, I am deeply sorry for the delay yet again. I hit a block in Fast Five and just left it be for awhile. Sometimes, you just have to walk away from a project. But with _Fast Six _coming out this year, I figured I better get my ass in gear and finish _Five _so I could start and finish _TD _before doing _Six_, that way I'll have the whole series done beforehand and can just post it all at once or something instead of drying up and forgetting about it for years and years. I hate it when that happens, as I am guilty of it, but it does and it sucks. As for _Fast Six_, I have no idea what I'm doing with Eve! lol I have this idea of her either staying good and being called in like the others by Dom and Hobbs, or somehow ending up with Letty and Owen Shaw, the main bad guy. Any opinions?

In other news, I don't know if any of my readers here care, but I am rewriting my _Lord of the Rings _story and I'm also working on a new _Walking Dead _fic! My _LotRs _is slow going, I'll admit, but my _WD _is already written out; its literally the entire first two seasons - except for the Season2 finale! Keep an eye out for that one 'cause I may post it tonight or tomorrow!

**Chapter 13**

Dom had been reluctant to return to Brian's place, although that was the understatement of the century. All Dom had wanted to do was stonewall the both of them, preferring to stand still and stare them down. Until Brian explained his plan; after that, he was just fine being around them again. Eve had to admit, it was a brilliant plan; she wished she'd thought of it. Who knew Brian was capable of such scheming? She sure as hell didn't. Eve figured Dom just enjoyed the idea of getting some kind of revenge on the fucker that ordered Letty to be killed. Brian and Eve were looking over his car, discussing how to get in touch with Campos without getting killed – after all, he was the key to making the plan work – when Dom mentioned, rather off-handedly, that his assistant, Gisele, gave him her number.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" she accused, staring at the bald man in wide eyed disbelief. Dom just shrugged, clearly saying that he didn't answer to her, before pulling out his phone and dialing the number. "Unbelievable," she mumbled.

"Shut up," Brian scolded. "This is good."

"Oh, yeah, let's trust someone who works for a billion dollar cartel to help us meet the big boss so we can arrest him," she retorted sarcastically.

Eying her curiously, her ex-partner asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"I just don't like her is all," she answered lightly, shrugging.

"It's Dom." Both looked over at Dom, his back turned to them, and waited. "What circumstances? Me being alive?...I got some business of my own. Get Campos." Eve raised her brow, impressed with his forcefulness, his tone lacking any caring at all, especially since the chick obviously liked him enough to give him her number. "Was that how Braga inspires loyalty? Killing his drivers?...I want to trade." Dom suddenly scoffed and said, "Fine. You explain to him how all of a sudden sixty million dollars worth of product disappears. I know that can't be good for business…" They waited on bated breath when Dom turned to them, a hint of a smile on his face. "Six million cash, delivered by Braga himself." That meant Campos was considering their deal, at least enough to hear the offer. Unfortunately, Brian and Eve were certain they heard some laughter coming through the phone. "I don't like being shot at. I ain't gonna put my neck out again unless he's got something to lose, too…either I deal with Braga, or you do." Dom turned to Brian and nodded at him, relaying the drop site to Campos before hanging up.

"Well?" Eve asked anxiously.

"He'll be there," Dom said with an air of certainty.

"Good." She nodded and turned to Brian. "Are your boys in place?"

"They'll be there," he assured her.

"I wish I had as much confidence in this crazy idea as you two do," she said, shaking her head at them. "I'll be right back." As she was headed towards the door, Brian asked her where she was going. "I just gotta make a call, I'll be quick, okay?"

"Well, hurry up, we gotta get the Hummer," he reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she muttered, waving him off. Closing the door behind her, Eve pulled out her phone and dialed the familiar number. While she listened to the ring, she tapped her foot impatiently before starting to pace.

"_Hey, you've reached Han. Leave a message and I'll get back to 'ya,"_ the voicemail toned at her.

"Shit," she cursed under her breath as she waited for the beep. "Han, it's me. Eve," she added awkwardly. "Look, I'm with Brian and Dom. We're going after the guys that killed Letty. And I don't know if…" Letting out a breath, she pulled the phone away to give herself a moment to get together. "I don't if I'm gonna walk away from this. I just…wanted to let you know what was up. And, if I do…survive," she almost laughed at the word, "then I'll let you know. That's all. Okay. Um, bye." Hanging up, she turned off her phone and pushed the heels of her hands into her eyes to force away the urge to cry. _Shake it off,_ she thought to herself, _shake it off_. And that was exactly what she did. Striding back into the house, she smiled a little and told the boys, "Let's go get us a Hummer."

* * *

That night, after they exchanged their cars for the Hummer to use and stashed the heroin, the group drove to the drop site. It wasn't so bad of a choice really. There was some construction being done, a new highway being built, so it was a totally secluded area. No civilians were around to risk being hurt and it was pretty secure. Parking the Hummer underneath one of the unfinished cement highways arches, the guys unloaded the empty crate and looked around. Time check; Braga should be there soon. Eve looked across the empty lot and spotted a few cargo crates, the big kind usually transported on ships. That was where the FBI and SWAT was waiting, both tactical and technical teams, since Brian was wired.

"Well, the good news is, when we get this guy, you walk out of here free and clear," Brian told his companions. While Eve had been ecstatic to hear that news, she was skeptical, waiting for the FBI to show its true colors and back out of the deal. Dom shared her opinion, though he actually had the balls to voice it.

"Is that what they told you?"

"Yeah, that's the deal."

Smirking, Dom asked, "You still put milk and cookies out for Santa Claus?"

"Yeah," Brian scoffed in reply, chuckling sardonically. Before anything else could be said, two sleek black cars and two black vans pulled up a few feet away from them. "Here," he said, passing the keys of the Hummer to Dom, "in case things go shitty."

"Just like old times?" he questioned, taking the key.

"Yeah." The moment the cars stopped, a bunch of men got out and started to walk towards them, speaking Spanish.

"Stay frosty, boys," Eve told them calmly. Among the men walking towards them was Fenix, who pulled out a gun and stalked towards Dom.

"You dropped something. That's what you wanted, right?" he asked, gun aimed at Dom.

"Dom," Brian warned quietly, walking up with Eve to lightly tap him on his chest. He didn't need to get any closer to Fenix than he already was. Thankfully, Campos ran up and grabbed the gun, pushing Fenix back. Fenix, however, was still shouting at them in Spanish until Campos had him calmed down enough to fall back in line.

Walking towards them, Campos offered the apology, "He's harmless. Don't worry about him." The three look at Fenix, who was glaring at them in a way that was anything but harmless. "And he's really sorry about Letty," he added to Dom, who just stared at him in disbelief. Definitely the wrong thing to say. "Where's our stuff?" Brian nodded to Eve, who walked over and opened the crate that used to hold the heroin.

"You mean the stuff that used to be in here, right?" Campos didn't look amused at all, but he was still smiling regardless. "Well, you'll see it when we see Braga. That was the deal." Eve slammed the crate shut and sat down on it, grinning at Campos, triumphant and smug.

"No worries. Braga keeps his word." Turning away from them, Campos waved his finger around in the air. Behind the armed posse, one of the car doors opened and an older man stepped out, carrying a black duffel bag with him. He slammed the car door and fixed his perfectly tailored suit before walking over to stand a few feet away from Dom and Brian, dropping the black duffel bag at their feet, which Dom eyed suspiciously. Eve couldn't really blame him; something wasn't right here.

"Two million," he told them. "You'll get the rest when I get my property."

"I got a question for you," Brian said. "You wearing pink when you were clawing your way out of el barrio?" Braga looked between them, nervous, as Eve slowly walked back over. "You're thinking what I'm thinking, right?" Discreetly, Eve put her hand behind her back, looking as though she was sliding them in her back pockets when, really, she slid two guns down the sleeves of her leather jacket and gripped them.

"He ain't Braga," Dom stated.

"FBI! Drop your weapons!" The SWAT team moved in too early, before Brian ever gave the signal, and they were headed trait for the decoy Braga.

"Fuck!" Eve exclaimed. The gunfire began, from both SWAT and Braga's men, and Eve pulled out her guns, firing at the posse along with SWAT.

Grabbing the imposter, Brian shouted, "Get down!" He pushed him down, covering him from the fire, as Dom knelt beside them. "Get out of here, Dom!" Dom, however, wasn't listening. Through all gunfire, his eyes were carefully trained on Fenix and Campo. Both of them climbed into Fenix's car and started driving towards them, running over their own men and SWAT in the process. "Campos is Braga!"

Hearing this, Eve turned her attention to the 1972 Ford Gran Torino and started firing at it. Dom suddenly ran towards the car and Eve shouted to him, but he jumped out of the way just in time. Running up, she saw that he had saved Gisele's life; she'd almost been hit by Fenix and Campos making their escape while trying to get to her car. Eve ran to the gate that the Gran Torino busted through and tried to hit the car, take out a wheel maybe, but to no avail. She screamed and cursed as the car drove out of sight. Turning around, mouth open to say something to Dom, she jumped back as he drove by in Gisele's car. Whether he was taking off after Fenix and Campos or just trying to escape the law, she didn't know.

"Shit!" she shouted and turned around to join the gunfight again only to find it had stopped. SWAT had control of the situation now. Eve nodded to herself, relieved, and began to run over to check on Brian when a SWAT grabbed her. "What are you doing?" she asked confusedly, which only increased when he took her guns and passed them to another SWAT agent. When he pulled out handcuffs and turned her around, she felt stupid for thinking, even for a moment, that Penning would keep his word. "What the hell are you doing?" she shouted, struggling against him. "BRIAN!" she exclaimed, staring at him wide eyed as he ran up to them.

"No, no, no, no, no! She's cool, she's with us!" he told the SWAT, who promptly ignored him.

"_She_ is a wanted criminal," Stasiak stated, walking up the group.

"She's done nothing but help with this case," Brian argued firmly.

"Yeah, and look what that got us," he replied sarcastically. "She couldn't do this job when it _was_ her job, and she can't do it as a criminal either. Totally useless." Both Brian and Eve glared at him, Eve wanting to show him just how useless he would be when her foot was up his ass but knowing that'd only make things worse. Addressing Eve, he stated, "Evelyn Trudeau, you are hereby under arrest for aiding and abetting criminal Dominic Toretto and his associates, and for evading and resisting arrest."

"You FUCKER! This is bullshit!" she screamed, struggling against the cuffs as the SWAT passed her over to Stasiak. As he started to read her, her Miranda rights, he began to drag her to the FBI's van. "I know my fucking rights! Brian, do something!" she shouted pleadingly, but he did nothing. Just stood there, looking helpless and unsure. "Brian!" she called again before the van door slammed shut.

* * *

"It's about time!" Eve exclaimed, rising from the shitty little cot in her holding cell, which she'd been since the failed mission last night and all day. Her watch told her it was almost seven at night, and she'd hadn't even been allowed to phone a lawyer or anything yet. _Bullshi_t, she thought, but seeing Brian walk in was the best bit of news she'd had. "What happened?" she asked, walking up and clutching the bars.

"I'm off active duty, formal investigation pending," he answered dully. Confused, she asked what for and he shook his head. "According to the higher-ups, because Braga's not the first criminal I let escape."

"Oh," she toned and considered that for a moment. "Well, I think we both knew that was gonna come back to bite you in the ass." Brian hesitantly nodded, agreeing with her. Leaning on her elbows, arms hanging through the bars, Eve quietly asked, "What about me? What about the deal?"

"Because we didn't get Braga…" he trailed off, letting the truth hang silently between them.

Nodding, she said, "So I'm going to prison, is what you're telling me."

"I didn't mean for this to happen."

"If that's supposed to be an apology, just stop. I got myself into this mess," she stated firmly. "Besides, should've known Penning would break his word. FBI isn't exactly known for keeping their promises to criminals, especially when said criminal is a former Agent." Brian looked like he wanted to say something but she cleared her throat and barreled into a new topic. "You know where Camp—Braga is now?" She still couldn't believe that bullshit; they'd had Braga right in front of them the entire time. Un-fucking-believable.

"Yeah, Customs tracked him via satellite to his home base in Tecali, Mexico."

"Out of your jurisdiction." Brian just nodded. "So what's the plan?"

Scoffing, he replied, "The plan? There is no plan. Penning isn't doing shit."

"But you are…right?" Slowly grinning, Brian pulled out a keycard from his pocket, swiping it through the electronic lock on her cell. The lock beeped and she slid her arms back through the bars just in time as the door opened. Smirking, she walked out and, with a bit of sass, asked him, "You couldn't have done that beforehand?"

"We gotta find Dom."

"I saw him take off with that Gisele chick, but I think I know where he'll be." Quirking a brow, she silently asked if he was thinking the same thing and he nodded. Dom would be at the cemetery, at Letty's grave, for sure.

"I don't think that'd be the best place to approach him."

"Agreed. His house? Mia might mind but…" She looked Brian up and down, taking note of his tense form. Seeing Mia again so soon after finding out Letty died working for him? The awkward tension was just getting started. "First things first. How are we getting me out of here exactly? Aren't I still under arrest?" Brian grinned at her again, pulling out some handcuffs. Eve groaned and slowly turned around, hands behind her back so he could put them on. "You suck."

"You swallow," he retorted instinctively.

"You wish, Bartstow," she laughed. "Let's get this over with, okay?" Grabbing her in the appropriate hold, Brian walked her out of the holding area and carefully through the headquarters, looking stern and serious. They stopped only once, to get her personal effects, which ended up being just her phone since her guns were confiscated into the evidence locker. Both of them breathed a little sigh of relief when the elevator doors closed; no one had stopped them, barely even looked at them.

"This is kinda nice," he commented randomly, to which she looked at him confusedly over her shoulder. "Well, last time, you were arresting me so…"

"Shut up," she snapped. Brian laughed as they exited the elevator and crossed the lobby to head outside.

Of course, he didn't let her off the cuffs until they got to his car, which was a ten minute walk away in the parking garage. She gave him a good hard slap upside his head for that stunt, quite pleased when he yelped in pain. They drove in silence, Eve still stewing over his parading her around in handcuffs in public. When the arrived at his place, he told her they were going to head out again in ten minutes. Ten minutes to get their shit together, what mattered at least, and get on the road again. Since her things were already packed, Eve just grabbed her helmet and waited on her bike for Brian. To pass the time, she tried Han's cell again but it went straight to voicemail again. Instead of leaving another message, she hung up and wondered if he'd even gotten her first message. And, if he had, did he care at all? He hadn't tried to call her; there were no missed calls displayed in her phone.

"You good?" Brian asked, startling her from her thoughts. Eve snapped the phone shut and shoved it into her pocket, nodding the affirmative before putting on her helmet. Brian could tell she was hiding something but there wasn't any time for a confrontation. Pushing that aside, he got into his car and they drove over to Dom and Mia's house. The lights in the house were on but there was only one car in sight and that was the Charger in the garage, which Dom was working on. Reluctantly, almost nervous, the two walked into the garage. "Everyone's looking for 'ya."

"I'm right here," Dom replied, not even looking up from the engine. Taking the initiative, Brian stood next to him and peered at the engine with a smile.

"It's nice to see you've gone with the times and switched to electronic fuel injection." Dom didn't bother to correct him, tell him that Letty was actually the one who fixed the Charger. "Looks good."

"Buster became a gearhead," Dom stated in amusement.

Ignoring that comment, Brian stated seriously, "I'm going with you."

"Me, too," Eve added, moving fully into the garage. Brian looked at her, unsure what to say. He figured this would happen, but had hoped she'd have sense enough to stay out of it. "What?" she questioned sarcastically, seeing the look on his face. "You think I'm gonna let you boys have all the fun?"

"I don't plan on bringing anyone back."

Brian just looked at him and replied, "We know." Dom finally looked at the two, stared at them long and hard before finally nodding.

"Hit that throttle," he said and Brian obliged. He'd only been helping Dom with the car for about a minute when she saw Mia walk up in her peripheral. Tapping Brian on the shoulder, she nodded behind him toward the driveway. He looked up and saw Mia standing there, a bag of groceries in her arms, staring at him. She looked at the ground, something akin to despair on her face, before walking into the house. Eve lightly pushed Brian, not that she needed to, and he took off after her.

Noticing Dom was watching Brian, Eve told him, "Let him go, man." Tugging at his coveralls, she pulled his attention back to the car. "This really is a beautiful machine," she complimented.

"It's cursed," was all he said. If you say so, she wanted to retort but didn't. Eve figured she should just keep her mouth shut. "You were down in the DR last year."

With a deep breath, she replied, "Yeah."

"The heists, your case, you knew it was me."

"Yeah."

"But you never made an arrest."

"Nope."

"So my question is this," he said and stopped working on the car to actually look at her. "Why not?" Eve looked at him, uncertain if she actually wanted to tell him the truth. His gaze was unblinking and intense. So intense that she had to look away.

Shrugging, she focused her eyes on the engine and answered, "I told you, I got side-tracked."

"By what?" Eve remained silent. "Or who?" Dom smirked as she glared at him, knowing he was right. Shaking his head, he said, "Life has a funny way of changing people." Uncomfortable, she shifted on her feet and grabbed a wrench.

"Let's just work on the engine, all right?"

Dom didn't bring up the subject again and, when Brian didn't come back out, him and Eve just finished the Charger together. In complete silence. When Brian and Mia finally did join them later that night, Brian and Eve stood off to the side as the Toretto siblings said their goodbyes, hugging each other as if it were the last time. Without saying another word to each other, Dom got into the Charger and started her up before leaving the driveway. Brian and Eve did the same thing in their respective vehicles, following Dom, driving all night and into the morning toward the US-Mexico border. They had just driven past the one mile marker when Dom pulled off the main road, following a dusty and graveled path leading to the top of a cliff. Why they pulled over, Brian and Eve didn't know and Dom didn't explain. He just leaned against the hood of his car, holding his crucifix and silently praying. So they waited, Brian throwing rocks over the cliff and Eve sitting on the hood of Brian's car, munching on some Chex Mix she'd stowed in his glove compartment. Brian glanced at her, seeing how bored she looked and mentally agreed. If only he'd known that the bored look was only disguising the utter terror rushing through her veins. Her phone vibrated and she pulled it out to see she had a new text message, from Han. Smiling, she opened it up and read it: _Be careful, gorgeous._ The sound of a car approaching snapped her back to reality and Brian stopped chucking rocks, moving to lean against his car beside Eve. The 2007 Porsche Cayman rolled to a stop a few feet from them and Gisele, who Dom walked toward, stepped out.

"Thought you weren't gonna show up," Dom greeted. Eve and Brian shared a look; at least now they knew why they had stopped.

"You saved my life. I'm willing to return the favor." Holding out a slip of paper, she told him, "This will help you get to Braga." Dom took it, but she didn't let go. "Dom." He looked at her and saw how concerned she was. "Going in there is suicide," she warned.

"I have no choice." With a quiet sigh, she let go of the paper.

"You must have loved her very much." Putting her hands on his chest, she leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Via con dios," she said before getting back in her car and driving off.

For lack of anything else to say, Brian state, "So this is where my jurisdiction ends."

"This," Dom told him, holding up the paper, "is where mine begins." Hopping off the car, Eve rolled up her snacks and stretched.

"Let's get this over with, boys," she said, moving around the car to put her chips back in the glove compartment. Brian laughed a little at her.

"I thought you were excited, that you weren't gonna let us have all the fun," he reminded her.

"And that's true," she replied. "I just don't like waiting to die is all."

"So optimistic," Dom commented offhandedly as she walked back to her bike.

Lightly hitting Dom with his hand, he told him, "Now you see what I've been dealing with all these years?"

"I do." Eve looked between the two men, who were smiling at her and rolled her eyes.

"Fuck off, the both of you, and let's go to work."

P.S.: Nine pages total.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

**Chapter 14**

Dom led the way to wherever it was that piece of paper told them to go. Much to their surprise, they arrived at a church. Parking around the back, they entered through a side door and came across a priest. Seeing only Dom spoke Spanish, he explained the situation to the man, who proceeded to thank them profusely. Apparently, he didn't like being stuck under Braga's thumb and didn't think he deserved to be forgiven by him for the crimes he committed. He was more than happy to help them put an end to his reign and directed them to hide in the back because Braga would be arriving soon. They waited patiently and, the priest was right, they didn't have to wait long because Braga showed up about five minutes later, entering the church alone. After a few moments of speaking to the priest, he got on his knees and began to pray. When the priest began to leave, he bowed his head and began to pray as well. The moment he was out of sight, the three of them emerged from their hiding place, Dom brandishing a shot gun, Brian his standard issued FBI pistol and Eve her two hand guns, courtesy of Brian.

"You ain't forgiven," Dom told him, the barrel of his gun just inches away from Braga's face. The drug lord looked at them, stunned and confusion; he couldn't understand how they'd found him so easily. He saved face though and his confusion was quickly masked with superiority.

"You boys want to arrest me?" He said something in Spanish, directing his sight to the church around them. Eve figured he was trying to play on their sense of spirituality, make them think arresting him in a church was crossing a line somehow.

"No," Brian responded, "we're beyond that." Braga paled a bit, seeing how his little plan for clemency failed.

"You can't buy your way out of this one," Dom stated. Braga looked at Brian and Eve, wondering if they'd step in to stop Dom. Neither one of them moved, just looked away, letting Braga think that they were going to let Dom murder him. He deserved a little scare.

Almost pleading, Braga told Dom, "Hermano, you and me…you and me, we're not so different. You're no hero." Dom cocked the shot gun and took aim between his eyes in response. Eve wanted to step in but a look from Brian held her in place. Falling back in place besides him, she accepted that she couldn't move. Dom had to do the right thing on his own.

"You're right." He loosened the tight grip on the shot gun, but his aim never faltered. "And that's why you're going back across the border." Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, Eve watched as Brian moved behind Braga, handcuffs clicking. "But Fenix is mine," he added, staring at Brian.

"You got it." Braga was cuffed, rather painfully on purpose, and pulled to his feet. Hurrying out the back door they came in, Brian dragged him out with a hand over his mouth, so he wouldn't alert the guards he most assuredly had out front, and shoved him into the passenger seat of his car.

Dom got into his Charger, Eve on her motorcycle, and the two follow Brian as he took off as fast as possible from the church. Tires squealing, they hit the streets and drove straight through an intersection of traffic. Cars honked and people shouted obscenities at them, but this didn't care. They had more important things to worry about than the traffic accident they'd just caused. Bringing up the rear, Eve couldn't help but laugh as adrenaline pumped viciously through her veins; this was just like _cilok_. As they kept driving, the fun ebbed away and the anxiousness returned. Looking over her shoulder, Eve kept trying to see if the men from the church, Fenix or the rest of Braga's cartel had caught on yet. No sign, thankfully. _Not yet,_ the back of her mind whispered. As they go over a hill, she saw Dom's Charger jumped in the air a bit but her Bandit flew through the air and she landed with a rough bounce, the tires grinding. Making a hard right, they turned down a dusty sandy road, weaving in and out along the path. Where the hell was Brian leading them? Did he even know?

Eve heard the gunfire before she saw it, sprays of sand and dirt flying up beside her.

"Son of a _bitch_!" she exclaimed, veering to the left to avoid the spray of bullets.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw two cars following them and the passengers were leaning out the windows, firing submachine guns at them. A little too close for comfort actually. Eve had been so busy worrying about the bastards behind her that she didn't see Dom swerve to the right to avoid the three other cars that showed up, trying to cut him off. Making a hard right, she swerved and her bike almost faltered to the ground, but she got it under control enough to avoid crashing and hauled ass to the hill Dom had flown over. Revving the bike, she sped up even faster and flew over the hill, soaring in the air for a moment again, even over one of the cars Braga's men was in, before crashing to the ground. The Bandit did falter this time and she fell off, rolling onto the ground. Tearing off her cracked helmet, she made a mad dash for her bike while trying to avoid getting shot. Pulling her bike upright, she jumped on and sped off just in time as one of Braga's drivers in a pickup truck tried to T-bone her.

The sand was doing a number on her bike, but she managed to catch up to Dom and Brian. Unfortunately, so had a good portion of Braga's cartel. Weaving around another car, she saw the back of Brian's window had been shot out; some great henchmen Braga had, they almost shot their boss. Making their way over another hill, Eve looked behind and cursed at the sight of at least three dozen cars on their ass as they headed into the desert. Spotting a passenger trying to shoot out Brian's tires, she kicked her bike into high gear and sped up until she was right next to him. The guy looked at her, stunned as she gave him a smile and little wave before punching him in the face. She hit him once more and kicked down on his arm, her bike wobbling a little bit before she settled and caught the gun as he dropped it. Taking aim, she shot inside of the car, killing both the driver and passenger, their now out of control car speeding off and careening into two other cars. Smirking in satisfaction, she sped up to catch up with Brian and Dom, swerving around a car Dom had shot and actually flipped over. Over all the noise, she could still hear the thugs shouting at her in Spanish and more gunshots ringing out, closer to her than before. Trailing behind a familiar 1972 Ford Gran Torino, signaling that Fenix was in the middle of this fray, she looked ahead and saw Brian headed for a mountain wall and panicked. She hoped that he would turn off but he didn't. This could not be the entrance to the tunnels. There _was_ no entrance!

"Ride or die," she told herself, knowing she had no other choice but to keep going straight. Even if it did crash her into a wall. Revving the engine to go even faster, she watched and laughed as Brian crash through the block entrance, Fenix and herself right behind him. It was then that she realized Dom wasn't with them and looked over her shoulder in a panic. What had happened to him?

Trying to navigate the unlit tunnels was difficult to say the least. Trying to weave around the dilapidated pillars while also trying to get around Fenix so she could stick close to Brian was even more difficult. Aiming the submachine gun, she fired at Fenix, hitting the walls and floor of the tunnels before actually hitting the trunk of his car. She tried to fire once more but the tunnel narrowed into a straight shot and she saw the car jump over a hill. At the speed she'd been going to keep up, she flew over this hill as well and bounced to a stop, nearly dropping the gun. After a bit of wobbling, she straightened out the bike just in time to make a hard right to follow Fenix, her back tire crashing into the wall. Kicking off the wall, she used the momentum to push herself forward and followed. Eve fired at the Torino again, blowing out the back window as he followed Brian to the left, crashing through a boarded up wall.

"Fuck!" she screamed, dropping the gun as she gripped the handle and ducked down to avoid getting crushing by fall planks of wood. "Damn it!" she cursed, straightening out as she looked back. The gun was gone and she was now driving through a larger tunnel, with no way to help Brian. The best she could do now was make sure he didn't crash and get himself killed.

She watched as Fenix sped up and moved in front of Brian, trying to press him into the walls. Eve kept speeding back and forth, trying to find a way around, figure out a way to help but it was no use. She was stuck. At least Brian had a plan, or rather, he had an epiphany and sped up to push Fenix into one of the pillars. He used that momentum to spin his car around and get back in front. But Fenix wasn't deterred so easily and was quickly back on his tail. Luckily, the tunnel opened up and Eve sped up to get next to Fenix. She smiled at him before kicking him in the face two times. The Torino swerved, hitting the wall and, before he could swerve it to crush her against the opposite wall, she hit her breaks and fell behind him, laughing as he smashed into the wall himself. Just when she thought she could punch it and get up next to Brian, Fenix blocked her once more, just as the tunnel narrowed again. Eve didn't know how it happened but all she could do was watch as Brian's car turned to the side and was T-boned by Fenix, sending them both crashing through the blocked exit.

"Oh, SHIT!" she shouted, quickly breaking and swerved to the side, stopping just at the edge. Had she not stopped in time, she would've gone zooming out the end of the tunnel and probably would have crashed and died. She watched helpless as Brian's car flipped about a dozen times, looking like nothing more than a crumpled beer can when it finally stopped. "Brian," she breathed, seeing Fenix struggling to get his door open. Turning her bike around until it was straight, she put it in park and started revving the engine to build up a decent speed. The second she did, she let go of the brake entirely and let herself fly off the edge. Since her speed was controlled, she landed safely, albeit shakily, and sped over toward Fenix, who was walking towards the car. Pulling to a stop a few feet away, she jumped off her bike and let it fall to the ground, too worried about Brian to care at the moment.

Raising his gun at her, Fenix ordered, "Don't you fucking move, puta." Panting, Eve raised her arms in surrender.

"Hey!" Braga shouted from the upside down car. "Get me out of here!" Waving his gun at her, Fenix motions towards the car and tells her to get him out. Scowling, she remained standing still and lowered her arms.

"NOW!" he barked, cocking the gun.

Hands raised in self-defense, she calmly walked to the car and set about dragging Braga out. With the barrel of the gun pressed against her head, she moved as fast as she could until he was free, groaning in pain. Stumbling under his heavy weight, she pushed him against the hood of the Torino and quickly backed away, rushing over to the driver's side to check on Brian. She didn't have to go too far though, because he kicked the door open and climbed out on his own. As she bent down to help him, Fenix growled and stomped over to them, kicking the mangled door shut as he passed it. He grabbed Eve by her hair and tossed her away from Brian, promptly kicking him in the face.

"Stop it!" she screamed but just turned around and backhanded her. Clutching her jaw in pain, Eve spit out some blood and tried to shake it off. When she looked up, she saw Fenix aiming his gun right between Brian's eyes. "NO!" Fenix was about to fire when another car came flying out the end of the tunnel, a 1973 Chevrolet Camaro. It barreled to the ground and sped up, aimed directly at Fenix, who started to fire at it. Brian suddenly grabbed Fenix's leg, either to distract him or hold him in place, she didn't know, but it worked because the Camaro crashed right into Fenix and killed him. Rising to her feet, Eve laughed a little hysterically, completely relieved to see Dom in the driver's seat.

"Pussy," Dom toned and got out of the car. Eve was so relieved that she wrapped her arms tight around Dom's neck, crying a little bit. Though she didn't know why, a combination of adrenaline and relief she supposed. He lightly patted her back before gently pushing her away, Eve nodding and wiping her eyes.

Her eyes widened as she remembered, "Brian." Running around the Camaro, she ran over to Brian, who was groaning as he tried to sit up, and fell to her knees beside him. Dom did the same, helping her sit him up.

"Let me see that," he said, looking at the bloody spot on Brian's right side. "Yeah. Just keep pressure there."

"What happened to your Charger?" she questioned, trying to catch her breath. Dom looked at her before looking back at the tunnel. She seemed to get the gist of what he was trying to say and nodded. "Forget I asked." Police sirens wailed in the distance.

"You'll be all right," Dom said, not moving from Brian's side. Helicopters could be heard now and the sirens were getting closer, so why wasn't he running?

"You gotta get out of here," Brian stated. "Both of you."

Dom looked him in the eyes and told him plainly, "I ain't running anymore."

Panting, Brian said, "I gotta ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"You know I would, I would have won that race if you didn't cheat, right?" Dom stared at him and nodded slowly.

"You hit your head hard." Eve chuckled at that and Brian started to laugh, too until he groaned in pain, holding his side.

"Don't make me laugh," he said, which only made Eve laugh even more. The sound of the sirens made her stop abruptly, sobering her up.

"Brian, I…" Looking over her shoulder at the incoming dozen or so cop cars, Eve bit her bottom lip in uncertainty. Turning around, she rose to her feet and looked between the two men anxiously. "I can't…"

Brian just nodded his head and told her, "I told you to go. Go." Her eyes flickered to Dom and he nodded at her. Bending down, she quickly hugged Brian as gently as she could before straightening up.

"Take care of yourself," she said to Dom, quickly running to her bike and starting it up. As she drove past the slew of cop cars, she wasn't exactly sure what her plan was but she did know that she wasn't going to be leaving L.A. just yet.

Eve drove for hours, taking back roads to avoid detection, until she got back to LA. The minute she entered the city, she headed for Brian's other house, hid her bike with a tarp and hustled inside to check out the damage. She was in the middle of cleaning a few cuts and scrapes, groaning with pain as every muscle in her body ached, when her phone vibrated. It was a text from Han, asking what was happening. Eve didn't answer; instead, she sent Brian a text and asked him what was going on. It was probably a risk, but it was one she was willing to take. He replied that Dom had been arrested – Penning had backed out of the deal, once again – and asked her where she was. She told him and he was there about an hour later, Mia right behind him. Brian explained that it would be around one to three months until the trial and ruling occurred so that gave them time to come up with a plan.

"What are you thinking?" she asked as they sat around the table.

"I'm gonna testify in Dom's defense, plead for clemency, but," he explained calmly, "if things go south, I vote we bust him out." Eve looked at Mia, who looked uncertain but nodded; there was no way she was going to sit back and watch her brother go to prison, again. "You in?"

Nodding, she replied, "You know it."

"Dom'll have to be transferred from lock-up to whatever prison the judge decides after the trial. I figure you, Mia and me in our cars – we'll get you one," he added to her and she just nodded for him to continue, "we follow the transport bus, cut it off, get it to flip and break him out." Eve frowned and shook her head, leaning back in her chair. "What? No good?"

"No, it's good, if you want add some unnecessary charges to your rap sheet," she told him, pointing out that flipping the bus would injure, maybe even kill, a few people on-board. The last thing they needed were those kind of charges on their record.

"So what do you think we should do?" Mia asked diplomatically. Eve took a breath and thought for a moment. Then it hit her.

Smirking slowly, she told them, "We're gonna need some more drivers."

Brian gave her a perplexed look as she pulled out her phone and called Wuji. Luckily, since it was late at night in LA, it was morning in Malaysia so he wasn't annoyed with her this time. She explained, with as little detail as possible, that she needed him to get her the number of a Tego Leon, whose last known residence was in the Dominican, near Baracoa. He promised he'd give it his full attention and the two hung up, Wuji promising to call her either in a few hours or tomorrow with results. Satisfied, she told Brian to just be patient and tell her the rest of his plan, since he no longer had a car – and couldn't use the FBI's impound lot since he was off active duty and the investigation was going on. He just smirked and told her that his car would need a lot of work when it arrived. Forty-five minutes later, she understood what he meant when a truck pulled up, hauling the remains of the Charger on the back of its flatbed.

"Holy shit," she gasped and hopped up onto the back, examining the remains. "This is worse than the Supra, Brian."

"Yeah, should be fun, huh?" he told her, grinning like an idiot.

With the Charger in Brian's garage, the three went straight to work, which was easier said than done because the car needed a lot of work. It was a good thing they'd had a month before Dom's trial came up because, with all the money that had to be put into the car, all their bank accounts were practically drained. It was three weeks later that Eve awoke to Wuji calling her, phone vibrating on the hard wood of the end table, with the first bit of good news. He'd found Tego and rerouted her phone call with him directly to Tego's cell phone. Before Wuji cut off his end of the line, she thanked him profusely and he just told her not to sweat it. Tego answered and, before he could even say another word, Eve cut him off and told him that Dom had been arrested for a bullshit reason and that she needed him, and any other partner from the heists he helped pull in the Dominican, to get their asses to L.A. – and they needed to do it fast. Tego tried to ask who she was but she just told him to get to L.A. and call her when he arrived.

Two days later, Tego did just that.

Mia went and met him, telling them to follow her back to Brian's place, where he and Eve were still working on the Charger. It was almost done; close, but not quite finished. When Mia arrived, Tego stepped out of his car with one other person, who he introduced as Rico Santos. Apparently, the two of them had taken off with their share of the cash and were hiding in Mexico the past year. They all shook hands and explained in more detail what had happened, from Letty's death to Dom's bullshit arrest. To say that Tego and Rico were on-board with the plan to jail break their friend, if he was in fact charged and not freed, was an understatement and the two newcomers joined the ex-lawman and woman in repairing the car. Two weeks later, it was finished and Mia added the final touch: Dom's crucifix, which she wrapped around the rear view mirror with a smile. The car sat in the garage for another three days until Dom's trial came up and all of them drove to the courthouse in their own vehicles. While Tego and Rico waited in their car at one end of the street, Eve sat on her Bandit across the street from the courthouse.

About an hour later, Brian came storming out of the courthouse.

P.S.: Seven pages total.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau. There is a line from _Los Bandoleros _and another from _Tokyo Drift _in this chapter that I don't own. If you can spot 'em, you're awesome!

Hey, guys! Just wanted to give you guys an update: I just finished Chapter 20, which puts me near the end of _Fast Five _and I have a couple of ideas for _Fast Six _but nothing super-major yet. There might be a delay in posting that part of Eve's story for awhile but I'll try not to make it year. I kid you not, it was Chapter 18 that had me blocked and stumped that whole year hiatus!

Oh, and how did y'all like _Fast Six_?! I was lucky enough to see it opening day and - holy hell! One: Luke Evans was fantastic! I absolutely love that man! Brits, unggggghhhhh! My favorite breed of man, even more than Asians. It's that accent! Two: Gina Carano, my God, forget Scarlett Johansson! Gina is the living embodiment of Black Widow! All the fights she had? Not a stunt double, all her! If you didn't know, that woman is a legit MMA fighter so she can seriously kick some ass. And look hot as hell doing it, too! Three: my Gisele problem is taken care of! Woo-hoo! Four: that cameo at the end? *flails* Damn! A better man could not have been picked!

Best guess? _Fast Seven _is going to be all about Dom and the crew getting revenge on a certain prick for killing Han. And that's only if Han is actually dead. If you look at the cast credits, Sung Kang is listed so maybe he really didn't die - it's possible, since they brought Letty back - or he did die and it's gonna be a flashback/memory sort of thing. But that doesn't really follow the style of this series so I don't know. All I know is that I cannot wait for it!

My only complaint with the latest movie? There is still the epic plot hole that is Leon! Everyone else from the first movie has been explained: Dom, Brian, Mia and Letty - still alive; Jesse and Vince - dead; Leon - ? WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM, JUSTIN LIN?! And Suki, can't forget my girl Suki.

Anyway, the man y'all have been waiting for to reappear is here! Along with a few other cool cameos. Read on and enjoy, darlings!

**Chapter 15**

Pulling out her cellphone, Eve called Brian and asked, "What happened?"

"_Judge gave him twenty-five to life, no chance for early parole. At Lompoc,"_ he stated and Eve cursed, tightly shutting her eyes. Over the course of time they'd been repairing the Charger, Mia had told that she didn't know what she'd do if Dom went back to prison and how Dom had told her, years ago, that he'd die before going back to that place. _"Some bullshit about how one good deed doesn't undo a lifetime of wrongs."_

"Fuckers," she replied. Mia came out of the courthouse, looking pissed and obviously had been crying. "You ready to do this?"

"_Oh, yeah." _Eve smirked and hung up the phone, shoving it into her pocket and putting on her helmet. It was show time.

Brian and Mia shared a kiss before heading to their cars – Brian in the Charger, Mia in her 2003 Acura NSX, with full JDM NSX Type R Conversion. Sending a quick text to Tego, Eve pulled out of her hiding place and started to follow the couple down the road, Tego and Rico in their 1978 Pontiac Trans Am right behind her. They drove for a bit, until they came up to the prison bus on its route to Lompoc. Speeding up, everyone took their positions, Mia on the right side of the bus, Brian on the left, and Eve, Tego and Rico drove around in front of it. Since her bike was faster, Eve got further down the road before turning around and speeding towards the bus. The bus driver was already honking at Tego and Rico, who had sped up to be in front and suddenly whipped the car around to drive in reverse.

Climbing out onto the roof, Tego carefully made his way onto the back and kicked a hook which sent the roof of the trunk flying. While the group were working on the Charger, they'd modified the hood to become a ramp. Tego ducked, clinging to the car for dear life, as Eve sped up and rode up the ramp with a bump. The Bandit flew through the air before landing on top of the bus with a screech, breaking to a stop with a spin and precarious wobble. Quickly shutting it off, she put down the kickstand and hopped off, tearing off her helmet as she went and set it onto the roof of the bus. Smiling, she unstrapped the small load of tools she carried, pulling out a blow torch and knelt down, goggles protecting her eyes as she started to carve a whole in the ceiling of the bus. The driver, hearing the noise, and the guard inside, seeing the sparks, began to shout and, soon enough, the bus began to swerve side to side. Brian and Mia were on either side, acting like a funnel to keep the bus in place but Brian had to quickly swerve out of the way when her bike toppled and fell off the bus.

"All right, now I'm pissed off!" she exclaimed, watching her bike crash to pieces in the road, and continued to carve the hole until it was done. "Look out below!" she called jokingly before stomping down on the cut area, which immediately fell into the bus with a loud crash. Kneeling down, she held the sides of the hole and dropped inside. When the guard raised his gun, she immediately pushed it away and punched him twice in the face before taking his gun and shooting him in the knee. The driver started to slam on the brakes, causing her to lurch forward, but she stormed up and pressed barrel of the gun into his head. "Keep driving!" she ordered and he nodded frantically, picking up speed once again. Turning around, she grabbed the keys from the down guard and smiled at Dom when she spotted him. "Ready to go?"

Gun still aimed at the driver, she walked over and handed Dom the keys so he could unlock himself. The second he was free, they climbed up and out the hole she'd made, ignoring the calls of the other prisoners. Standing on the roof, they jerked around as the driver tried to swerve and shake them off, and jumped – Dom onto the Charger with Brian and Eve, with no other choice, quickly leapt off onto the Acura with Mia on the other side. Eve crawled along the roof until she got the open window and slid inside, Mia smiling at her as she did so. To their left, the bus screeched to a stop and all three cars sped up to make their escape. Her phone began to ring and she smiled when she saw Brian's name flashing.

"_That was fucking awesome!"_ he cheered in her ear and she laughed.

"I just drove my bike on the roof of a moving bus! Amazing what you can do when you have no choice." Besides her, Mia laughed and looked out the window to see Dom smiling at her. "Told you I got moves you've never seen!" she told him, ecstatic and adrenaline pumping.

"_I stand corrected,"_ he replied. _"Let's get the fuck out of here."_

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Barstow." Smiling, she hung up and leaned back in the seat to relax.

"Sorry about your bike," Mia told her, "but thank you." Looking at her, Eve smiled softly and shrugged.

"It was worth it," she replied and looked out at the passing scenery.

About twenty minutes later, all of them pulled over and let Dom get out of his prison suit while listening to various radio stations. On each and every station they checked out, the prison break was all that was being talked about; they were certain that it was on every TV station, too. A fearsome manhunt was said to be under way for Dom, obviously, but also for Brian, Mia and Eve. How the cops knew it was them that broke him out, well, it wasn't so hard to figure out. Luckily for Tego and Rico, they remained completely unknown because multiple law enforcement agencies were said to be on the hunt for them. Looking around at the desert, the sun setting, the group shared a serious stare. Where did they go from here? Rico began to speak in Dominican, to which Tego started argue with him and tease him about being scared. This only served to set Rico off and he started shouting at him, making the rest of them laugh, until Dom yelled for them to shut up.

"Get out of here," he ordered them, slapping hands and giving them each a hug. "Thank you. Be safe." Both men nodded and said for him to do the same, in their own unique way, before climbing back in their car and driving off, headed back for Mexico.

Turning to Dom, Eve asked hesitantly, "We cool?" Dom stared at her a moment. He knew for sure she wasn't a Fed anymore, not with that job she just did. He wasn't sure he believed her at first, but he knew now more than ever that she was on the run; she gave up her chance to have her charges dropped to get him off that bus. He nodded, smiling a little at her and held out a hand for her to shake, which she did with a wide smile. Looking at Brian and Mia, who are both smiling, she realized that, in that moment, she was no longer fumes. She was family; she liked the sound of that. Releasing his hand, she told them, "I gotta get out of here."

"We'll stick together," Brian told her. "Head south." Dom shook his head at him, same as her.

"Not gonna work, Barstow. We stick together," she explained objectively, "we'll get caught for sure. Gotta split up." Reluctantly, he nodded and walked over, hugging her tight.

"So where you going? Back to Malaysia?" She just smiled as he released her.

"Actually, I hear they're doing some crazy shit in Tokyo," she responded. Dom stared at her before scoffing in disbelief, chuckling and shaking his head. While he shook a finger at her Eve just smiled at him, knowing he knew what she meant, knew who the "who" she refused to talk about earlier was. Brian looked between them in confusion.

"What?" he wondered.

Dom ignored him and told her, "Keep him out of trouble."

"Keep _who_ out of trouble?" Brian interjected

"I will, if you do the same," she told him, pointing at Brian. "I don't want to have to save your asses again." The crew laughed at that and Mia tossed the keys to the Acura to her, saying she needed it more than her. "Hey! You know what the best part about Tokyo is?" she called to them. "No extradition!" Grinning madly, she nodded her goodbyes and got in the car, taking off down the road. Pulling out her cell phone, knowing there was one more person she had to take care of, she called Wuji.

"_Tuyet,"_ he greeted, his voice full of concern, "_I'm watching the international news and your face is splattered all over it. What's going on? Job go south?"_

"Actually, it went off without a hitch," she replied with a smile.

"_Really? That's…well, that's interesting. If this is the result of a success, I'd hate to see what a failure would be,"_ he replied confusedly. She just laughed and told him to find a way for her to get to Tokyo. _"Tokyo? Why you going there?"_

"Just do it, Wuji. And make sure my Mustang meets me there." He started to protest but she cut him off with, "I don't care how you do it, just do it."

"_What about your bike?" _he wondered. She told him to keep it or sell it, whichever he preferred. _"You're not coming back, are you?"_ he replied. The way he asked, she knew he didn't need an answer because he already knew it himself.

"It was nice working with you, Wuji, but it's time for me to move." Not just because of Han but, if Brian had tracked her down, then the FBI knew she'd been in Malaysia. "I can't thank you enough, for everything," she said and he sighed on the other end.

"_Yeah, yeah, don't go female on me, okay, Tuyet?"_ he groaned and she laughed. _"Look, I know a guy, get some good parts shipped over from him. Tej Parker, best circuit man I ever met; got his fingers in everything in Miami. I'll tell him you're coming and he'll get you set up, okay?"_

"Okay, thanks, Wuji."

"_My pleasure. Been nice working with you, Tuyet."_ Hanging up, she tossed her phone to the passenger side and focused on the road. It was a long drive to Miami.

* * *

"_Here's what he know so far. This is all the aftermath of a daring daylight break out. There were twenty-six high risk inmates—"_

"_Everyone on-board has been accounted for, except for one: Dominic Toretto."_

"…_police released the identity of the man they believe to have orchestrated the shocking escape that, amazingly, resulted in no fatalities this afternoon. He is former Federal Agent Brian O'Connor."_

"_The FBI has issued a statement that another high profile fugitive likely assisted in the escape, another former Federal Agent, Evelyn Trudeau."_

"_...victims positively identified Trudeau as the shooter—"_

"_A fierce manhunt is underway for four fugitives tonight. Multiple federal and local agencies have joined forces in the search for Dominic Toretto and his accomplices, Brian O'Connor, Evelyn Trudeau and Mia Toretto."_

"—_despite every eye in the country looking for them, where the Torettos, O'Connor and Trudeau are now is anyone's guess."_

* * *

After meeting Tej, she was quickly smuggled into a cargo ship, hidden in one of the many storage crates. Meals were brought to her regularly by a friend of Tej's, a woman, Suki, and, in almost two weeks' time, she was smuggled off the ship in the dead of night and onto the docks in the harbor of Tokyo. True to his word, Wuji had her Mustang waiting for her when she arrived, watched over and guarded by two local fishermen. Her first priority, from the minute she was taken off that cargo ship, was to find the races. She wanted to surprise Han and the only way to do that was to find him herself, and the only way to do that was to find the races because he would surely be there. Luckily, the two fishermen pointed her in the right direction.

She drove around Tokyo for a bit, getting lost quite a few times and almost causing an accident. The rules of driving were much more complicated than simply driving on the other side of the road. No cops appeared, fortunately, and all Eve had to endure was a few angry words shouted at her. After driving for another hour, with no luck at finding the races, Eve was just about ready to find a motel and give up, try again tomorrow. Then she spotted a most peculiar car, a dark purple 2003 Mistsubishi Eclipse Spyder GTS with silver and red ninja throwing stars designed on both sides, the hood and trunk. No way a normal person put in the time on that kind ride; definitely had to be a racer, so she followed the Spyder all the way to a parking garage. When the driver stopped, he talked to the Japanese kid working the gate for a moment before driving through. When she pulled up, the kid spoke and held out his hand. Sighing, she told him all she had was American currency and he groaned but accepted regardless before letting her through.

The minute she got out of her Mustang, people were staring at her. She knew she looked out of place, being a blonde haired-blue eyed American and all, but did that really warrant staring? Looking at her black leather pants, white tank and leather jacket, she realized that she was getting stares, not only because she was obviously American, but also because she was far too covered compared to the girls at this race scene. While shaking her head in mild disgust – with some of the clothes these girls were wearing, they were just asking to get raped – she caught sight of a rather large crowd. In the center of it was a young Japanese man, a big shot, she gathered, from the way everyone was kissing up to him.

"I wouldn't even look that way if I was you," a voice stated behind her. Turning around, Eve smiled at the sight of a fellow American, a young teenager. Christ, he was small, how old was he, thirteen? What the hell was he doing at the races?

"Why not?" she questioned curiously and the kid just grabbed her by her arm and pulled her in the opposite direction.

"'Cause that's DK and he ain't just DK, he's a Yak." Eve had no clue what DK stood for, but she pretended she did and continued to look around the scene in fascination. "You know what a Yak is, right?"

"Yakuza," she replied and the kid nodded. Looking over her should at the teen, her brow furrowed and she pointed at him. "_That_ kid?" Pushing her arm down, the teen began to drag her away, much to her amusement.

"Damn, gurl! Are you crazy? You got a death wish or something?" Eve laughed outright at that. Sighing, he stopped pulling and told her, "I think you're lost," he decided. "Yeah, you def lost, gurl."

"Lost, I am. Perhaps you can help me be found." she pondered teasingly. Holding her hand out to him, she greeted, "Name's Eve."

"Twinkie," he replied, reluctantly shaking her offered hand. "You need a cell phone? I'll give it to 'ya half price since, 'ya know, you're from the good ol'US-of-A like me."

"A phone I got," she told him, killing his sales pitch as fast as possible, "it's a person I need to find. Think you can help with that?"

Twinkie scoffed at her and boasted, "Gurl, I know everybody whose anybody here! Who you lookin' for?"

"A racer." He scoffed at her once more and gestured around the parking garage, which was packed full of racers. "His name is Han. Han Lue." Twinkie stared her, eyed her up and down, before nodding slowly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know Han. What you want with him?" Smiling at the kid's loyalty, she just shook her head and said she was an old friend who was moving into town. Nodding once more, Twinkie reluctantly led her in the right direction. As a girl walked by them, rolling her eyes in disgust at Twinkie, he paused and watched her walk away. "He's over there, gurl. I gotta go," he told before chasing after the girl shouting, "Hey, Wednesday!" Watching him run away, she couldn't help but wonder if that was really the girl's name though she seriously doubted it was.

Pushing her way through the crowd, she saw him. His hair was a bit longer and hung loose, instead of the slicked back sleek she remembered. He looked a bit bigger as well, either more muscle or fat from all the snacks he consumed. Sitting on the hood of what she guessed was his car, an absolutely gorgeous silver Lexus LFA, he was the picture of calm and nonchalance. Unfortunately, though not to her surprise in the least, he was surrounded by a gaggle of girls. All of them Japanese, all of them looked like models, and all of them were hanging off of him, touching him, or giggling at him. Han himself had his arms wrapped around two girls, his face buried in the hair of one and, from the way she was girl was smiling, he was definitely chatting her up. It made her cringe, it made her ill but, most of all, it pissed her off. As if channeling Letty, she walked up the group; the girls saw and dismissed her right away, but Han was too busy whispering in the ear of the girl to his right to even notice her presence. A scowl on her face and arms crossed, she cleared her throat. Han glanced up before going back to talking to the girl. Eve raised a brow and waited, tapping her foot patiently for him to realize just who was standing in front of him. When he did, his gaze snapped back to her and he stared in disbelief, frozen, while she smirked at him.

"You know, it's not that hard to track you down," she told him bemusedly and looked at the girls surrounding him. "All I gotta do is follow the odor of skanks." Clearly, some of the girls understood English because those few began to glare at him.

"Eve…" Looking at the girls, she ordered them to go find their fun someplace else. When they didn't move, she shouted it and, after a nod from Han, they eventually left the two of them alone.

"Surprise," she teased, arms crossed. Shaking his head, a lopsided smile on his face, Han stood up and started to walk to her but she put a hand on his chest and pushed him back. "Where do we sleep?" Smirking, he walked over to the passenger side door and held it open for her enticingly. "And they say chivalry is dead." They shared a smile, remembering the first time she said that to him, the first night they met one year ago; it felt like longer. "I got my car. Follow you?" He nodded and shut the door. As she walked away, she heard and engine rumble and looked over her shoulder to see Han following her at a slow roll. A smirk on his face the entire time. Her shoulders shook with restrained laughter while she started her Mustang. Han took off out of the garage and she followed, taking notice of the stares and whispers following them. A short drive later, she pulled in next to him in his garage.

"Wow," she breathed, looking around the tiny garage mock awe. It wasn't a total dump but it wasn't a mansion either, which suited her just fine. "Moving up in the world since I last saw you."

"Yeah. Plenty of hot water, AC and two TVs," he told her, and Eve cracked a smile at their private joke. "Working on the room service."

"You mean the skanks don't come back here and wait on you hand and foot?" Han didn't answer and she nodded. "Uh-huh, that's what I thought," she said and looked around once more before facing him. "So, where am I sleeping?" With a nod of his head, he led her up the stairwell and opened the third door down. While she was looking around the room, Han closed the door behind him. After she was done, she put her hands in her back pockets and turned around to face him. "I'm on the run," she told him.

"Yeah?" Eve nodded and slowly walked toward him. "Serious?" he asked, although he didn't sound very concerned, as if he already knew what had happened.

"Very." He just nodded, eyes focused on her as she walked closer. "You know how in those old Westerns, the cowboys make a run for the border?" He nodded again. "Well, this is my Mexico." Han let a ghost of a smile pass over his face and she couldn't help but smile back. "I helped pull a pre-prison break for Dom," she explained before adding, "And shot someone. Add that to the aiding, abetting, evading and my newest resisting arrest charges, I'm a _very_ wanted woman."

Taking a deep breath, he sighed, "Wow."

"Yeah, wow," she echoed as she stopped in front of him. "So," she began, playing with the buttons on his shirt, "can I trust you not to turn me in?" Han stared down at her.

"I don't know. There's probably a big reward and I really need to upgrade my car." Shaking her head, she grinned and grabbed him by the back of his neck, pulling him down into a kiss. Eve could feel him smiling against her lips and hugged him, letting out a surprised laugh as he picked her up and tossed her onto the bed.

* * *

"So you never actually told me why you chose Malaysia."

Rolling over, she rested her chin on his bare chest and quietly explained, "I couldn't go back to the States. My life was over. Everything I worked for, it was all gone." Eve pressed a soft kiss to his chest, feeling his hand tighten in her hair. "And Bilkins knew, he knew – the same way him and Tanner knew about Brian – that I went native." Looking him dead in his eyes, she added, "That I let things get personal. That I fucked up."

Putting his free arm behind his head, he was the picture of relaxation as he asked, "That the only reason?"

"Yeah." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"So then why didn't you come to Tokyo with me?" She sighed and laid down, her cheek pressed against his chest; she could hear his heart beating.

"You would've been the first person he looked into. Couldn't risk it."

"Really?" Nodding, she lightly kissed his chest again. "No other reason?" he asked curiously, fishing for an answer. Sensing this, Eve raised her head once more.

"Did you honestly think we could be together?" Without hesitating, he told her 'yes' and she sighed quietly, almost ashamed. "I didn't. I thought, if I came with you, after a while, you'd get bored and then where would I be?" Han shook his head at her and started to tell her exactly how ridiculous that idea was but she cut him off. "I wanted to forget, and I just wanted to go someplace that wouldn't remind me of you."

"How'd that work out for 'ya?"

"Not real well," she told him, face scrunched up comically. Han laughed and hugged her, kissing the top of her head. "Admit it, even with all those skanks around, you missed me. You're glad I came."

"I just had nothing better to do this weekend," he told her. Gasping, she laughed and began to playfully smother him with a pillow until he rolled on top of her.

_**A/N: **_So, one, the prison break in this is different from the one in the movie. That's because I originally wrote this before _Fast Five_ came out and we saw the details of how it happened. I decided not to change it. Two, I would just like to tell everyone that in _Fast Five_ Han was based in Hong Kong, not Tokyo but, for the sake of artistic license, I've just moved him to Tokyo to set up his partnership, or lack thereof for now, with DK.

P.S.: Eight pages total.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

FIRST AND FOREMOST! I need to address something a few of reviewers have said to me via PM. Now, I am more than open to constructive criticism but the level of harrassment I've received is nothing but flames and I do not, under _any_ circumstances, tolerate flames. Do you seriously have nothing better to do than trash on someone else's imagination? Flamers, you are nothing but scum; you're disgusting! But, just to make this clear to you pissy few, there has been mention that Eve is a bitch and that I need to stop writing her that way, that I need to stop making her come off as being the better cop than Brian and better than the rest of the gang. NEWSFLASH! Eve was _never_ a cop, she was a Federal agent which, to me, automatically makes her better. Brian was LAPD, which has _never_ had a good reputation, and he was only getting a shot at the FBI because of the case with Dom - Dom and the crew were his way in. Eve, on the opposite end of the spectrum, was a top trained Special Agent. FBI, CIA - these are the people that are on the front lines of protecting the President and the rest of my own nation's dignitaries. They are the elite, the best of the best (again, in my own country) so, yes, Eve is a better "cop" than Brian. As for Eve being a bitch, Brian often tells her this! Can she be a bitch at times? HELL YES! All women can, we all have our days so get over it. And, you know what, no one is forcing you to read my fic so, if you don't like, don't fucking read it!

Now, that that's out of the way: lots and lots of _Tokyo Drift _lines in here! So, if you see 'em, awesome for you because that means you're an epic fan! If you don't, well, you're still awesome because you're reading this and I adore you for it. Oh, and I don't own those lines. Sorry for the shortness but this chapter is a filler. Despite the shortness, I wanted to set up _Tokyo Drift _as much as possible and make a big transition for Eve from being just an ex-Fed on the run to a real racer. Character development and all.

Also, good news! I finished writing _Fast Five _as of yesterday and I've started a prelude to set-up _Fast Six_! I hope you guys like what I've decided to do with Eve and, as soon as _Fast Six _is done, _Tokyo Drift _will be started and this series will conclude with _Fast Seven_. It'll be sad but, at the same time, I think it'll be a huge relief. I'm seriously going to try and power through _Six _and _Tokyo Drift _as quickly as possible to avoid getting bored and abandoning this, or getting bored and trying to play catch up to get to _Seven _and then getting frustrated. You guys know how this goes; it happens, unfortunately. But, I promise, I'm really going to try!

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter! Enjoy!

**Chapter 16**

Han and Eve had been together officially for eight months. She began working in his little garage in Shibuya and, thanks to a few loyal customers and more men coming in to check her out, business was good. Han winning money at the races helped a lot as well. Of course, Eve detested going to the races. Not just because she couldn't drift but also because, even though it had been eight months, apparently some of the skanks still didn't understand that Han was off the market. On those nights, the couple would normally have to leave early because Eve broke someone's nose or almost broke an arm when she twisted it behind a bitch's back. She couldn't help that she had pent up energy and, to be honest, the skanks had it coming every time they even tried to touch Han. Sure, they didn't have the perfect, secure life that most people had but it was theirs and that was all that mattered to them. Han wouldn't trade it for anything, not even the down parts, but it still felt like something was missing. For him, at least.

"Let's leave," he told her suddenly. Confused, Eve stopped working on the Camaro she'd been working on for a regular customer of theirs and looked up at him.

"What?"

"Leave. Let's leave," he repeated.

"Um, okay," she laughed in amusement, "it's a bit early for a lunch break but sure. Where do you wanna go?" she asked, wiping off her oily hands with a rag. Han smiled a little and shook his head.

"Not lunch. I mean leave Japan." Brow furrowed and face screwed up, Eve stared at him. For a moment, she wasn't sure if he was serious or not but, from the blank look on his face, she knew instantly that he wasn't joking. Smiling to herself, only to hide her immense confusion, she asked him where he wanted to go. Han shrugged and replied, "Anywhere. Everywhere. Let's just go."

Scoffing with laughter, she shook her head and asked, "With what money?"

"We'll use our money for gas and food, sleep in our cars," he answered. Laughing out right, Eve shook her head and turned back to the Camaro.

"You and me?" she asked incredulously. "Sleep in our cars? No TV, no running water, no room service? You're crazy," she told him, fully focused on the engine again. Did he even remember how badly they needed the luxuries? Hell, Han would throw a tantrum if the cable went out because they were behind on a bill and she would flip without hot water. Had he forgotten all those instances? And there were plenty of them, what with them being stuck in the lean times without hardly any money to spend on themselves. She heard him walking around but jumped a little, smiling to herself, when his hands curled around and lightly gripped her hips. "Han, we have work to do," she reminded him with a grin.

"Forget work. We'll sell this place and just go," he stated, still on his pitch to pack up and leave. A little concerned at his serious tone, she straightened up and turned around. "Let's go. We'll travel the world, see everything."

"Is something wrong?" she asked suspiciously.

Han shook his head, "No."

Straightening up once again, a hand on her hip, she questioned, "Then why the sudden urge to be Phineas Fogg?" Han just shrugged and moved away from her, leaning on the work table and pulling his bag of sweets out of the pocket of his coveralls.

"I'm bored," he offered by way of explanation, popping a sweet into his mouth.

""Bored"?" she echoed. "You're the one that chose to live here!" she exclaimed in shock. Again, he just shrugged nonchalantly. "And now, just when I get here, you want to leave because you're _bored_?" She didn't understand, couldn't wrap her head around this new development. Something about this whole conversation just wasn't right, she could feel it.

"I'm used to always being on the move."

"Yeah?" she sniped sarcastically and he nodded. Nodding to herself, Eve put down her tools and stormed up to him. "Then why is that you were perfectly okay here for a year and now, a couple months into our relationship, you want to pack up and leave?" Paling a bit, though she couldn't decipher the emotion on his face, Han pulled her flush against him.

"That has nothing to do with it," he assured her.

"Yeah, whatever." Pushing away from him, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and turned back to the Camaro.

"You want to stay, we'll stay." Slamming down the tools, she rounded on him.

"Of course I want to stay! I came here to be with you," she told him, mimicking his nonchalant shrugging, "but if you want to leave, don't let me stop you." Picking up the tools she dropped, Eve put all her attention into the car. If he wanted to leave, then he could leave; see if she cared. Of course, she _did_ care; perhaps she cared too much, which was why she was so pissed off at him. Han sighed, knowing that he'd stuck his foot in his mouth again, as he usually did with her temperament, and walked over.

Thumbs lightly caressing her hips, he told her, "I'm not gonna leave you." The double meaning in his words didn't escape her.

"Those skanks are hopeful to the contrary," she muttered and Han cracked a smile.

"How many times do I have to tell you I don't care about them?" he asked her, hand under her chin to make her look at him. _Not anymore maybe, _she thought to herself. Gently pushing his hand away, she decided to quickly change the subject.

"When are you going to teach me how to drift?" Sighing, Han backed away to lean against the work table again and popped a sweet in his mouth.

"When you're ready," he answered simply.

"I _am _ready!" she exclaimed impatiently.

With a small shake of his head, he simply stated, "You're ready when I say you are."

"What are you, my master?" she questioned defiantly. Han smirked lecherously, looking her up and down, and Eve bit down a smirk as she tossed the oil rag at him. "Shut up." He laughed under his breath, thoroughly amused, but complied with her request. "Teach me to drift." Han told her no, the same answer he'd been giving her the past eight months. "Come on! I'm dying to race and I can't do that until I know how to drift! Besides that punk DK, you're the best driver in Japan."

"Are you buttering me up?" he teased, smirking at her.

"Maybe," she teased back, running her hands up and down his chest as he smiled down at her. "Is it working?"

Nodding slowly, he pressed a softly kiss to her lips, "Maybe."

"Please, teach me," she whispered against his mouth. Sighing, knowing that he was never going to hear the end of this, Han conceded and hugged her to him.

"All right," he told her and Eve grinned widely in excitement, "but it's not gonna be easy."

* * *

Grinning behind the wheel of her Mustang, Eve gripped the wheel and kept her eyes focused on the road. Han, a little more than amused with her anxiousness, put a hand on her thigh and squeezed affectionately. She quickly sent a smile his way before looking back at the road. About halfway through the drive, following Han's every direction, Eve had been so excited that she didn't pay attention to her speed. Sure, the traffic lights were easy to understand at this point, but she was just so focused on following Han's directions to where he'd be teaching her, eager to learn, that she didn't even see the cop car sitting on the side of the road. It wasn't until she sped by that she saw the cop, in her rear view mirror. Looking at her gauges, she cursed at how fast she was going – well over the appropriate speed limit – and looked back in the mirror to see if the cop was going to come after her.

"Don't worry about it," Han told her easily.

""Don't worry about it"?" she echoed incredulously. "Han, I know there's no extradition here but the last thing I need it to be pulled over for speeding. Shit!" Hitting the steering wheel, she tried to calm herself down and act cool but it wasn't helping.

He laughed at her stressed tone and explained, "Police cars here are only factory-tuned." She looked at him confusedly and Han smiled. "You do better than a hundred-eighty, they don't even try to catch you."

"Seriously?" Han chuckled at her stunned tone.

"Seriously," he echoed, squeezing her thigh again. Eve's eyes narrowed as she let this sink in, however.

"So you're telling me that I could've been speeding the entire time I've been here?"

"Yeah," he laughed.

"And you didn't tell me this because why?" she asked in annoyance.

He shrugged a little and answered, "You've never really been a racer. I didn't think you'd care." He was right, she knew it – though it killed her to admit it – and that annoyed her even more.

"Well, I do," she sniped immaturely. Han looked at her, smiling, before looking out at the passing streets of Shibuya.

"Noted."

* * *

"So why are we at the mountains?" Eve wondered. Hands on her hips, she looked out at the breathtaking view while Han leaned against her Mustang, munching on his chips. Walking back over to him, taking a few chips for herself, she added, "I thought you were gonna teach me how to drift?"

"I am," he answered calmly. "The first drifters invented drifting out here in the mountains by feeling it. I learned out here and so will you." She nodded slowly, wondering just who had taught how to drift because, the few times that he did drift, usually on the public streets instead of at the races – as he told her before, if he was ever to race, it'd have to be for something important. "Now, there's a lot of ways to do this." Nudging her lightly, the two of them walked around to the driver's side where he motioned for her to get in. Once she was, he closed the door behind her and leaned down into the window. "I could tell you that hand breaking is the easiest, that you should power over once you blow it, but there's no "wax on, wax off" with drifting. You learn by doing it, by _feeling_ it." Her hands lightly gripped the wheel, nodding slowly in concentration. "So feel it."

Han told her that she'd have to start at the very top, where they were, make her way down to the bottom and them work her way back up to where he'd be waiting. He also warned her about how most of the turns were sharp and that, if she wasn't careful, she'd turn right over the edge of them. She learned that lesson all too well, when she lost concentration and had to quickly break. Swerving to a stop, Eve hyperventilated whilst gripping the wheel. With a tight swallow, she stared up at the mountain wall in front of her and then over her shoulder at the edge of the cliff. She didn't know what would be worse, rolling of the edge of the cliff or barreling into the mountain wall. After letting out a shuddered breath, she jerked the car back into motion and set about going down the mountain again. When she finally got to back to Han, she stopped before him and he looked at his watch. She'd taken way too long.

Shaking his head, Han shouted, "Again!" Eve drove off to try again, not in the least bit discouraged since she knew she'd been terrible. Determined to do better, she drove up and down, worked on her breaking, and barreled to a stop in front of him once more. "Again!" he shouted, sighing. Gritting her teeth at the sound of disappointment, she clenched the wheel and sped off once more. The next time came back, she had been going by so fast that she brushed dirt all over him. After wiping off his face and hair, he shouted at her, "Again!" This went on for hours before Han told her that was enough for the day. He offered to drive them back home but she firmly refused to give up the wheel. Besides, nobody drove her baby but her.

"I'm terrible, aren't I?" she asked seriously, both of their heads bent over the engine of a car. It was Han's dream car, a Mazda RX-7. Every night, whether they were tired and overworked or not, they always worked on it. The way they figured it, when it was done, the Mazda would decimate all.

"You'll get better," he assured her. Sighing, Eve stopped her work and crossed her arms. Leaning her hip against the car, she stared down at him.

"When?" she asked impatiently. A ghost of smile crossed Han's mouth as he looked up at her.

Shrugging, he answered, "When you do." Scoffing, she walked away from him and pulled out her cigarettes.

Since Han had quit smoking years ago, which he confessed was the reason for all his snacking, she was firm in her habit to never smoke around him. Matter of fact, she had started smoking less, mostly due to the fact that he made her go through an insane regimen whenever she finished smoking. He'd make her change her clothes, brush her teeth twice, use mouthwash, and even scented hand lotion to get rid of the smell, and taste, of smoke from her. It was always a temporary fix that, while she hated, it brought him endless amusement. Eve was starting to suspect that Han was trying to make her quit as well. But, tonight, she was so on edge and a little pissed that she didn't care if she smoked her entire pack. A noise behind her drew her attention and she saw Han, staring at her as he wiped off his oily hands. Shaking his head a little at her, he smirked at her before heading to their room.

"Bastard," she mumbled, smiling bemusedly as she chucked the butt to the ground.

* * *

For two months, every chance they had, they were back on that mountain. During that time, the two hired two teens, Earl and Reiko. Despite their young age, both of them thirteen, they were utterly brilliant at what they did and eager to learn more. Soon enough, both were making the garage a lot of money due to their skills. Earl would use do tune-ups using stand-alone fuel management systems to control fuel and timing for the various racing customers. Reiko, on the other hand, was their data-log analyzer, helping Earl with tune-ups by checking the driving habits and various engine telemetry stored in data-logs. More often than not, she would end up pissing off a lot of racers because of the way she'd try to correct a racer's driving skills but Han and Eve both stood by her word. Anyone that had a problem with her opinion, had a problem with them, and definitely weren't welcome in their shop.

Eventually, the two began to join them at the mountain and helped Eve and Han tune-up the Mustang. As she swerved to a stop before the trio, Reiko and Earl popped her hood and set about checking everything out. When they were done, they both looked at Han and shook their heads. Eve saw this and rested her head on the steering wheel. Perhaps it was time she gave up. After two months, she wasn't any better. Well, that wasn't entirely true; she hadn't driven over the edge yet, hadn't come as close as before actually. When the passenger side door opened, her head snapped up and she stared confusedly at Han. The picture of relaxation, he buckled his seat belt and lounged in the seat.

Looking her in the eye, he calmly told her, "Again." Sighing, she started her Mustang back up and drove back to the top. Glancing at him, he nodded and she set off down the mountain. "Watch it. Watch it. Not too early," he directed her, seeing her hand going for her brake. "Now! Go, go, go, go!" Eve smiled with Han, who was laughing as he told her, "Don't lose it! Don't lose it!" When she made it to the bottom, Han kissed her hard and told her to do it again. This time, she was more than happy to do it.

It was a month later that Eve won her first drift race. The celebratory party consisted of herself, Han, Reiko, Earl, a bunch of racer chasing skanks hovering all over Han – much to Eve's pleasure when she made out with Han in front of them and proceeded to fuck him in the bathroom, clearly marking her territory – and their newest employee, an Army brat who Eve met all those months ago, Twinkie. Whether or not that was his real name, she still didn't know and didn't really care. Just like Reiko and Earl, he was still a young kid and, even though he was second-rate mechanic, which wasn't to say he wasn't any good because he really was, he was a first-rate salesman. He would go all around Tokyo, selling pre-owned goods to the unsuspecting masses and would give about half of his profits to Han to keep the garage in the black. The rest of his money was being saved up for his dream car. Subsequently, it would also be his first car when he finally turned sixteen; Twinkie had his eye on a 2003 Volkswagon Touran, which Han, Eve and the others promised to help "pimp out" for him at his request. Oddly enough, he had this idea to turn the Touran into his favorite comic book character: The Hulk. Twinkie wanted the entire car painted green, with either purple leather or fur on the seats and, odder still, he wanted parts of the body pressed out in the shape of fists and feet. Eve even promised to get a nice decal of The Hulk on the hood for him, so there was no confusion about the inspiration for the crazy car. Those teens, and Han, they were her family now and they were crazy but they were hers. Hell, they'd even taken to naming her Mustang Leo, short for Leonardo, and Han's unfinished Mazda was Mona, for Mona Lisa. Trying to escape the crazy party, Eve stumbled outside and pulled out a cigarette. With a few deep breaths, she finished it and immediately lit another. Behind her, the door opened and she saw Han smiling at her, commenting that he'd thought he'd seen her sneak away.

"What are you doing out here? That's _your_ party in there," he reminded her, walking over to lean against the balcony railing beside her.

"Really? 'Cause the only people I know in there are you and our underage employees," she retorted, reminding him of the three thirteen year old teenagers inside, and Han laughed under his breath.

After assuring her that the three were only drinking soda, he asked, "Is this your happy face?" Feeling particularly snarky, Eve just flashed him a tight, fake smile before taking another drag of her cigarette. "What's wrong?"

Immediate, she replied, "Nothing." Han scoffed.

"I know you better than you think I do." Resisting the urge to scoff back at him, Eve just took another drag of her cigarette. Noting her cold stance, Han put a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed. "Something's wrong." She looked up and stared into his eyes for a few moments before sighing.

"Brian…" she began and stopped just as quickly. Closing her eyes, she tapped her foot and felt stupid for what she was about to say. With a deep breath, she finally continued, "Brian told me Dom said that when he races, he feels free." Han nodded, having heard Dom say that a couple times himself. "I never understood it, but it's true," she admitted quietly. Chucking her dead cigarette over the edge, she turned to look up at Han. "When I'm behind the wheel of my car or on my bike, whether I'm racing or cruising, it's like everything else just disappears. No past. No future. No problems. Just the moment." Wrapping his arms around her waist, Han slowly nodded his head while she put her hands around his neck, lightly scratching at the nape of his hairline. "Does that make me crazy?"

A ghost of smile crossed Han's lips and he told her, "If you're crazy, than so am I." Grinning, Eve pulled him down for a kiss, which he happily returned. Reaching down, he quickly picked her up by her thighs and set her on the edge of the balcony.

"What about our guests?" she asked coyly, nipping at his neck, not caring at all about their guests.

"What guests?" he returned. Eve tightly wrapped her legs around his waist and Han inhaled sharply, grinding slowly against her jean clad core. "Oh, those guests."

"Yeah, those guests." Han's lips attacked her throat and she leaned her head back, giving him better access. He smirked proudly when she let out a moan, pulling him closer to her with her legs. She could feel him hard against her thigh and let out a breathy laugh.

"God, I love you," he whispered into her ear.

Biting her bottom lip, grinning like an idiot, Eve replied, "Love you, too." He didn't even make her go brush her teeth or anything. Perhaps the night wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

The next two months passed quickly and, before either one knew it, a year had passed. While Eve raced all over Tokyo, Han only raced occasionally. He still maintained the belief that, if he was going to race, it had to be for something important. Twinkie just joked that he was waiting for Mona to get finished before he started beating every racer around. Including DK. Han would always shake his head, laughing at the suggestion that he'd ever race DK. One night, when Eve asked him why the thought of that amused him so, he just told her that DK wasn't worth his time. Whenever she'd remind him not to speak of him like that, because of his uncle and the possibility that such disrespect would be discovered, he'd smile and tell her not to worry. Apparently, word had spread about how good their garage was doing because, like it or not, DK himself arrived one night. The two had been hard at work on Mona with forged pistons, bigger turbo, new rods, new crankshaft and even more when the wannabe Yakuza asked to speak to Han, privately. Han agreed and, after watching the two of them as discreetly as she could from the almost finished 1994 Mazda RX-7, Eve could tell it wasn't going well. DK stood toe to toe with Han, telling him something. A moment later, he turned and stalked back to his car before speeding out of their garage.

Curiously, she walked up to Han and asked, "What DK want with you?

"Just wanted me to have a look at his car, that's all," he replied, shrugging.

"He stormed out of here lookin' ready to kill someone because you wouldn't check out his car?" she questioned skeptically. Han nodded at her and she slowly nodded back, lips pursed as she wiped off her oily hands on a rag. Hands on her hips, she stared up at her boyfriend and asked, "Tell me why I don't believe you." A small smile on his face, Han leaned down and kissed her.

"Don't worry about it. Okay?" Gently holding her face, he kissed her once more and, reluctantly, she felt herself melt and sigh into it. Pulling back, he told her, "I got everything under control."

"…Okay," she murmured, smiling at Han. It was more for his benefit than hers however because, as he walked back to his Mazda, Eve looked out to the streets. Something was going on and she didn't like not knowing one bit.

P.S.: Eight pages total.


	17. Chapter 17: Fast Five

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

Just a reminder that, in the movie, the split is a little over eleven million apiece but, because of Eve, the split is a little over ten instead.

Also, _Fast Six _is more than halfway finished!

**Chapter 17**

The vibrating of Han's cell phone woke the couple a few days later.

"Ugh, what time is it?" Eve groaned, rolling over and looking at her watch. It was quarter after three in the morning. The phone vibrated noisily again. She groaned again and nudged Han, who moaned and wrapped is arm tighter around her waist. "Are you gonna answer that or what?"

"Just let it go," he mumbled sleepily, tightening his hold on her and nuzzling into the back of her neck. Eve nodded and closed her eyes, settling back into bed. Eventually, the phone stopped and both sighed, relaxing against each other. Their hopes of going back to sleep were dashed as the phone vibrated for a third time. Both groaned loudly.

"That's it," Eve stated, throwing off the covers and marched over to his side of the bed in her tank and underwear. Han protested, but she just snatched up his vibrating phone from his end table. "If you don't answer it," she warned, dropping the phone in his lap, "then I will." Hands on her hips, she stared him down impatiently.

"All right, all right," he groaned. Sitting up, he sighed and looked at the phone; an unknown number, perfect. He was losing sleep and dealing with his pissed off his girlfriend for an unknown number, just perfect. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he flipped open the phone. "This better be good," he greeted shortly.

"_Han."_

Freezing, Han sat up straighter and guessed, "Dom?"

""Dom"?" she echoed incredulously.

"Dom, man, you got any idea what time it is here?" he laughed.

"_No idea,"_ he answered, and he didn't sounds like he cared much either. _"Daylight over here."_

"What's going on? What's he want?" Eve asked. Han waved her off, but Eve slapped his arm and he yelped into the phone.

"_What was that?"_

"Nothing, just a pest." Eve glared and punched him in his shoulder, hard. "OW!"

Dom laughed harder and asked, _"How's Eve, Han?"_

"Not too happy with me right now." Eve smirked, pleased with herself. "Where the hell are you, man?"

"_South America,"_ Dom answered simply.

"The old stomping grounds, nice." Han saw Eve giving him a curious look out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't bother to answer her. "Vacation?"

"_No. I need you here."_ Confused, Han asked him why. _"Can't explain till you get here."_

"Dom—"

"_This is important," _Dom stressed._ "Rio, Han. Get here. Tomorrow."_

""Tomorrow"?" he echoed in shock. "Are you kidding me? Dom, there's no way I can—"

"_Tomorrow,"_ Dom repeated, ordering him, before hanging up. Scoffing a little bit, Han shut off the phone and sat back against the wall.

"Well? What he want?" she asked curiously. Han didn't answer, just quickly got out of bed and started piling clothes from his drawers and closest on top of the bed. "Han?" He didn't answer, just grabbed a duffel bag. "Han?" Frustrated, and more than a little scared, she grabbed him and pushed him against the wall. "Han! What the hell is going on? What did Dom want?" Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "Answer me, damn it; you're scaring me!"

Pushing her away, he reluctantly answered, "I don't know."

"What do you mean you "don't know"? How can you _not_ know?" she asked. Han walked around her and started throwing clothes into the bag. "Are you just gonna ignore me?" His lack of answer was all she needed to hear. "Fine," she growled and pulled out her out bag, throwing clothes in it.

"What are you doing?" he asked, ceasing his packing to stare at her.

"What's it look like?" she snapped. "You don't want to tell me anything, fine, but you're not going anywhere without me either. Especially if Dom's involved."

"Stop it," he told her but she ignored him. Han walked over and started taking her clothes out of the bag, putting them back in the drawers. Every time he took something out, though, she grabbed it and put it right back in. This little dance went on for a few minutes before he finally ad enough and told her to stop again. But she didn't listen. "Stop, Eve! Just stop!"

"NO!" she screamed. "Why should I, huh? Give me one good reason." Hands on her hip, she waited for an answer. But Han didn't have one, and that was something they _both_ knew. "Exactly. So," she said calmly, zipping up both their bags and chucking his at him, "where are we going?"

Sighing, Han threw his bag over his shoulder and told her, "Rio."

* * *

The plane ride was tense. Han felt perfectly at ease walking through the airport, paid no mind to the security but Eve? She looked like a terrorist, glancing over her shoulder, eying every officers, making sure she knew all her exits. Han had to pull her against his side, holding her there until she calmed down. He laughed quietly at her, asking her why she was so nervous. Eve reminded him that she was the wanted felon who escaped custody, twice, and helped another convicted felon escape. "Oh, yeah," was all he said, his tone very sarcastic. Rolling her eyes, she asked him if he remembered to get his car to go with them to Rio de Janeiro and, with kiss on top of her head, he nodded the affirmative and told her not to worry so much. That just made her roll her eyes again; how could she not worry when they were en route to meet Dom, in Brazil, with no explanation as to why?

"I'm sure it's nothing serious," he told her, driving his Ford Maverick through the crowded streets of Rio. Thankfully, there'd been no incidents at either airport and Eve thanked both the breakout having been a year ago, so it was old news to the public, and Wuji for his fabulous paperwork. The moment they'd landed, Han called Dom and he told them where to go and, after asking some directions – which surprised the hell out of Eve, to hear Han asking for directions in the local language, until he reminded her that he and Dom used to run jobs in South America – they were underway. Eve didn't understand why he didn't bring the Lexus LFA but, looking around, she understood completely; the Lexus would've been way too flashy, draw too much attention to them, but the Maverick? That was a top muscle car down south.

"How could it _not_ be serious?" she questioned, looking out at the crowded streets. She smiled faintly; these streets reminded her of the Dominican. "There's no way Dom called us down here to jack some trucks. No way. It's gotta be something else."

"He called _me_ down here; _you_ tagged along," he corrected her. Rolling her eyes, Eve took his bag of chips and popped a few in her mouth.

"Tomato, toe-mah-toe," she countered and Han smirked a little. "Point is, this is dangerous – for _all_ of us. What is he thinking? What's he want?"

"Guess we'll find out," he replied, taking her hand in his as he shifted gears. They pulled up outside a rusted warehouse. Getting their bags out of the trunks, both shrugged at each other before heading inside, Han munching on his chips and Eve stealing some for herself with a smug smile once again. Before they even got inside, they heard voices. Two very familiar voices. "No way," Han mumbled as they snuck inside. "Can't be…"

"Oh, yes, it can," Eve added, shaking her head in amusement. In the center of the warehouse were three men she knew very well, and one she didn't, pairing off against each other. Tego and Rico on one side; Tej and the unknown man on the other. Shaking her head at them still, she looked around and spotted a familiar scrawny backside she'd thought she'd never see again. "What the hell is she doing here?" she mumbled curiously, following Han as he casually walked up to Gisele.

"I thought cock fights were illegal in Brazil," he joked. When she broke a smile, he smirked at his success before looking to his left at Eve. Seeing not harm in the comment, she just smiled and shook her head at him.

"Men," she muttered teasingly, ignoring the feigned painful look he gave her, hand over his heart. Putting her fingers between her lips, she let out a loud whistle and the boys immediately stopped fighting to look at the source of the sound. Tego and Rico started laughing joyously, walking over to greet her and Han, happy to see familiar faces. While she received a hug from Rico, Eve nodded a vague sort of greeting in Tej's direction, not really knowing him well enough to walk over and hug him like she was the others.

"I see you all met." Turning around, the groups saw Dom walking towards them. With him were Brian and Mia, all three faces immediately sending a smile onto Eve's face.

"There he is!" Han exclaimed, walking towards them with the others. Eve rushed ahead of everyone else, pulling Mia into a group hug with Tego and Rico. Out of the corner of her ear, she heard Gisele telling Dom that she thought him calling to Rio was for something more exciting.

"Yo, check this out. This is Tej," Brian introduced to Dom, "the best circuit man on the East Coast." Both men nodded their respect to each other, slapping hands. "And this is my boy Roman Pearce. We go way back; I met this cat in juvie. I pulled that job with him in Miami." Dom nodded, eyeballing Roman just as much as Roman was him.

"I heard about you." Roman jerked his chin in Dom's direction and Eve rolled her eyes. That was a hell of a greeting.

"Nice digs," Han greeted sarcastically, looking around the dump of a warehouse.

"Complaining already," Eve commented, nudging his hip with hers playfully.

"Yeah, well, the Ritz was sold out." The two men slapped hands, smiling happily at each other while Dom pulled Eve in for a tight hug. "How's Tokyo?"

"Not bad," Han replied and pulled Eve back into his chest, the two of them sharing a lopsided smile.

Shaking his head, Brian grabbed Eve's hand and pulled her to him, telling her, "Come here, girl." Eve laughed, hugging Brian tighter than she had anyone else, laughing as he groaned and held her tight as well. "What are you doing here?" he asked curiously.

"Well, Han got this call from Dom and said that he needed him in Rio, that it was important. And I wondered why I hadn't gotten call." Turning to look at Dom, she told him, "Hurt my feelings a little, man. Really, I thought we were closer now." Dom just smiled and shook his head at her in amusement. Turning back to Brian, she shrugged and told him, "Decided to tag along."

With a deep sigh, he told her, "You shouldn't have."

Brow quirked she simply responded, "Since when do I listen to you?" Knowing how true that is, he just nodded and turned his eyes to Han, looking him up at down suspiciously. Unfazed by the steely stare, Han stared right back and popped a chip in his mouth. Eve realized her mistake when she saw them looking at each other. "Oh, sorry. Brian, this is Han Lue. Han, _this_ is Barstow."

"Han, huh? This the guy you went native over?" She chuckled at his tactlessness but nodded regardless. Brian looked Han up and down once more and seriously told him, "We'll talk later." Eve rolled her eyes and hit his arm with the back of his hand.

"Stop."

"What?" Eve gave him a look and he looked at Mia, who gave him the same stare which clearly told him to just stop what he was doing. Brian shrugged and smiled at them. "I'm your brother, remember? Gotta give the talk."

Scoffing, she told him, "You are _not_ my brother, Barstow!"

"Not by blood," he replied easily. Shaking her head at him, she let out a laugh before hugging him again. "Missed you, bitch."

"Yeah, yeah," she toned, pulling away and playfully punching his shoulder. "Missed you, too, pussy."

"Rome, Tej," Brian began, pulling Mia and Eve over to the two men, "this is Mia Toretto and Eve Trudeau."

"Nice to meet 'ya," Tej said to Mia, shaking her hand. Nodding at Eve, who nodded back, he told Brian, "We met." Brian looked between the two, silently asking how that happened. "How you think your girl got to Tokyo, man?"

While Brian was laughing in disbelief over that connection, Rome said to Eve, "Heard a lot about you. Nothin' good though," he added with a sneer.

"Aw, Barstow was probably just bitter 'cause I beat his ass right before your Miami thing," she replied, playfully punching Brian again, which he returned this time.

"That true?" Hesitantly, Brian nodded. All of a sudden, Rome broke into a grin and laughed loudly, slapping hands with a stunned Eve. "My kind of girl! About time someone put you in your place, dawg!"

After everyone had a good laugh at Brian's expense, Han asked, "So, what's this all about, Dom?"

"Yeah, man," Tej added, looking at Brian. "Why'd you drag us halfway around the world?"

Looking around the room, Dom simply stated, "'Cause we got a job." The group gathered around the work table, letting Brian explain everything. Their target was a dirty businessman, Hernan Reyes, who single-handedly ran the drug scene for probably all of South America. The bonus of this job? The man had _never_ been busted, because he never left a paper trail. No paper trail meant no banks; no banks meant cash houses – ten of them, to be exact, throughout the entire city. "And we're gonna hit 'em all." There was a pregnant pause as they all looked at Dom and Brian like they're crazy.

"All of 'em?" Tej asked, confused.

"All of 'em," Dom confirmed.

"Sounds crazy," Rome stated obviously. "You bring us to a whole 'nother country, so we can _rob_ the dude who runs it?" Another pause as the others let this sink in as well. It's an ugly truth but it was truth nevertheless. Rome's not wrong, this is most definitely crazy. "I thought this was business. Sounds _personal_ to me." Again, he's not wrong. "Is that what this is? I got love for y'all, but personal _ain't_ good business." Shaking his head, Rome picked up his bag and walked away from the group. "I can't do this, homie."

"So what we're talking about is a _hundred_ million dollars," Dom told them, quite loudly. It had the desired effect as Rome immediately stopped and turned back to the group.

"You say what?" he asked innocently. "A hundr-a hundr…see," he began, walking back over to them, Tej shaking his head while Brian and Mia shared an amused smile, "sometimes I be over thinkin', man, and, uh, I know we just met but you just kinda gotta—"

"That's right," Dom interjected, "a hundred million dollars and everything we take, we split even."

"So a little over a ten million apiece," Tej calculated quickly. "I am _down_." Rico and Tego agreed as well.

"Ten million…" Rome mumbled thoughtfully. "Sound like a whole lot of vaginal activity to me." Eve scrunched up her face in disgust but chuckled nonetheless.

Arms crossed, Gisele stated, "You can't pull off ten heists on the same mark. You just can't."

"Yeah," Han agreed. "As soon as we hit the first one, they're gonna do everything they can to protect the rest." Dom grinned at his old friend.

"Exactly." Leaning on the table, Eve thought about the situation for a moment before looking straight at Dom.

"If he moves all his cash into one spot, then there's no need to hit ten places," she guessed and he nodded at her. Taking a deep breath, she let it out and nodded slowly as she straightened up. "I'm in."

Looking to her left at Han, silently asking if he was in or not, she smiled when he nodded. After that, outnumbered, Gisele agreed as well. Dom explained that, to set things in motion, the boys were going to hit one of the cash houses to send a message to Reyes. But, first, they all were going to get some rest for the night and start first thing bright and early tomorrow. All of the travelers were happy to hear this news as it had been an extremely long journey for all of them. No one's longer than Han's and Eve's. Mia directed everyone to different rooms, hugging Eve goodnight as she went off to her own. Hands locked together, Han and Eve made their way to their own shitty room to crash for the night when Brian stepped up. Taking her by her arm, he pulled her out of Han's grip and off to the side.

"Whoa, what the hell, Brian?" she exclaimed. Han started to follow but Eve waved him back, assuring him that she was fine. Although, honestly, she wasn't sure that she was fine.

"You gotta get outta here, Eve." Staring at him, she asked if that was really what this was all about. "I can't let you do this," he added and she groaned. Damn him and his sense of nobility. However ill-placed it was. "This is _my_ mess, not yours. I can't let you get involved. That's why I didn't call you." Eve scoffed softly at his concern and shook her head at him.

"I've been involved, whether I wanted to be or not, since day one," she reminded him. Reluctantly, Brian nodded in agreement. Turning around, she nodded at Han, who remained watching cautiously on the sidelines, to go ahead without her. Reluctantly, he nodded and did just that, closing the door behind him. Moving to the little fridge, Eve pulled out a bottle of water for herself and a beer for Brian; Corona, of course. Hopping up onto the table, she asked, "So, how about you explain to me how this all started?"

It was with a loud sigh that Brian did just that. For the past year, he explained, him and Mia had been on the run, working odd jobs to make ends meet. It wasn't until they got a call from Dom about a month or so ago that they actually had a real plan. Dom said to meet them in Rio, at a very specific place. They didn't hear from him again but, not having any other choices since they were running low on cash, which was needed for the gas tank of their 1971 Nissan Skyline GT-R – always a Skyline with Brian, she mused – and hadn't eaten for a few days, they did as asked and immediately headed for Rio. When they finally got to the place, they were greeted by armed men in every direction they turned. Just when they were going to leave, sensing they weren't welcome and thinking they'd made a mistake, had the wrong address, a voice shouted that Mia was with him. Much to their surprise, it had been Vince and he got them safe passage through the armed men and back to his house.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Eve exclaimed, making Brian stop his story. "Back it up a minute. Vince is here?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah."

"Vince that tried to blow your cover and kill you?"

"Yeah."

"Vince that I put behind bars?"

"Yeah."

Not really sure how to respond, she slowly asked, "How is he?"

"Still a prick." She snorted with laughter, shaking her head at him. "But he's married, got a little boy." That bit of information surprised the hell out of her.

"Someone married Vince?" Brian nodded. "And reproduced with him?" Another nod. "Jesus," she breathed, taking a long gulp of water. "Woman's either Mother Theresa or Elizabeth Bathory."

"She's a nice woman," he quickly defended and Eve backed off, quietly apologizing. "And the kid looks like her, fortunately," he added as an afterthought, and the two shared a loud laugh.

"You're not off the hook yet. I know there's more, Barstow. Keep going."

He went on to explain how Dom wasn't there, which shocked them since he said to meet him there. According to Vince, he hadn't heard from Dom for a couple weeks; last he heard, he was still up north somewhere in Ecuador. Vince and his wife, Rosa, put the two of them up for the night and, after the first meal they'd had in days, Vince told him and Mia about a job he was pulling with another guy. He was putting a team together, just needed a few more willing people. Vince had hoped Dom would have arrived sooner to do it with them, for old time's sake, but it was clean enough to do it without him. All they had to do was steal a couple of high end cars from a train. It was easy money, he said, that they could unload the cars quick and get top dollar for them and, Vince wasn't afraid to tell them, that they both looked like they could use the pay day. The couple knew he was right, so they signed on; at least now they knew why Dom said to meet them in Rio de Janeiro. Brian told her that he and Mia were sent onto the train, posing as passengers, and had to swipe the security card to the car of the train where the cars were stocked. They did so easily but what Vince failed to mention, which Brian noticed when he was snatching the key, was that the train had DEA agents on board. And the keys to the cars? They had DEA tags.

"They were seized," she stated seriously, running a hand through her hair.

"Yeah."

"Shit, Brian…"

Eve didn't bother to point out how bad that was, because he already knew. He told her that Vince and another guy on the team, Zizi, drove alongside the train in a monstrosity they called "Mondo" and cut a hole in the side with a plasma cutter. Much to their joyful surprise, Dom was with them. While they were greeting Dom, Vince went first and high-jacked the black 1971 DeTomaso Pantera GT5-5, getting away quick and easy. Mia went next, taking a blue and white striped 1966 Ford GT40, although there was some dispute about who should be the one to take it. Eventually, Dom scared the Zizi and the other guy into letting Mia take it. Something was up, they all knew it right away, so Dom told Mia to wait for his call so, instead of going to the designated drop site, she went to the safe house that Vince had set up just for them. That was where it went bad. The other guys on the team pulled guns on him and Dom while the guy driving Mondo went after Mia. Brian left out a lot of the details, but he told her that two of those guys were dead with only one, Zizi, getting away, while him and Dom ended up driving off in a 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport over a cliff into gully. When they'd surfaced, guns were on them. The two were immediately captured and taken to a warehouse, chained to the ceiling, where they met the owner of the cars, Hernan Reyes. He threatened Mia before he left, leaving them with his men to either be tortured or killed or both. They never got the chance though because they broke free, killed the guys, and went to their safe house where Mia was waiting for them. Oddly enough, she almost hit them with a torque wrench; just like a Toretto. They all agreed that they had to get out of Brazil fast but, first, Dom decided that they needed to know why Reyes wanted the GT. After all, what was so important about a car that it required holding two men hostage?

Eve thought a moment before realizing, "Something was in it." Brian nodded, smiling proudly at her. "And that something was…what?" This time, Brian smirked at her and leaned in closer.

"We took the whole car apart and found a chip. I looked it over and found out that it was a delivery schedule."

"For what?"

"It had a dealer pack."

"That sounds vaguely familiar. Drugs?" she guessed. "It's been awhile since I worked the narcotics circuit, Bri. Refresh my memory." Brian explained that most major players weighed their money so they didn't have to count it. Each shipment in that dealer pack was worth ten million dollars, totaling a hundred million plus in cash houses. "Wow," she breathed and whistled lowly.

"That's how Reyes stays off the grid, and that chip? It's his whole network." Eve asked him if there was anything else she should know and he cringed. "Um, yeah, that guy Zizi? He killed the DEA agents and got it pinned on us." Instead of her jaw dropping and eyes going wide, Eve just looked at him, head tilted to the side.

"Which means you just jumped up to the top of the Wanted List," she stated and ran her hands through her hair. "Jesus Christ, Brian."

"There's one other thing." Letting out a scoff – of course there was something else – she waited for him to tell her. But what else could there be? "Vince was working for Reyes." Hopping off the table, she kicked the legs of it and let out a string of curses.

"Does he know about this place?" she asked frantically. "Are we safe here? Or is Reyes gonna make a house call with his boys?"

"No, we're safe. Don't worry." Eve scoffed; how was she not supposed to worry? "Like I said, we didn't find anything in the car but, Vince waited until we went to sleep and took a chip out of the back of the DVD player. That's how we found out about him, Reyes, the money, everything."

"A DVD player in a classic like that? Fucking stupid," she commented off-handedly.

"Really?" He couldn't believe that, that's what she was focusing on at that moment. Eve just shrugged, not caring one bit what he thought, and he shook his head. "Anyway," he continued, "he swore up and down that he didn't know the job was about more than the cars but Dom wasn't having it. He kicked him out; haven't seen him since."

"This…this is bad. This is _really_ bad," she told him, pulling at her hair and pacing. "Rome's right, ya know; this _is _personal."

Brian shook his head and looked at the floor, telling her, "Can't keep running, Eve. Gotta get out. This – this money, this job – this is how we do that." Looking her dead in the eyes, he seriously stated, "We're gonna take all of Reyes' money, every last dime of it, and disappear. New passports, new lives, no more looking over our shoulder, and we're gonna buy our freedom."

"By going against the most powerful guy in all of Rio?" Letting out a deep sigh, she put a hand on his shoulder and told him, "It _is_ a great plan. Wish I'd thought of it." Brian smiled and nodded his thanks, very proud of himself. "So what do you need?"

"Two precision drivers that don't crack under pressure, never lose – me and Dom," he said with a wide grin, which she returned.

"So modest," she teased.

"A chameleon, someone who can blend in, anywhere; that'd be your boy Han, according to Dom. Also need a fast talker, someone who can bullshit their way out of anything." Both of them shared a chuckle, knowing that'd be Rome without even saying so. "Tej'll take care of running security and circuits and, with those circuits, Reyes' is gonna have walls. That's where Tego and Rico come in, to punch through 'em."

"What else?"

"Utilities and weapons, we're gonna need someone who ain't afraid to throw down and back up every other position." He looked at her and smiled. "That'd be you and Gisele." Eve scoffed.

"Please, she's nothing. Besides, why is she even here?" she wondered. "When we met her, she was working for a drug lord, almost got us killed and, need I remind you, she's probably still trying to get into Dom's pants. "When you called me to come to Rio, I assumed it would be for something more exciting"," she mocked and Brian snorted with laughter.

"You jealous?" he teased.

"Of her scrawny ass?" Eve scoffed. "No way. Just don't trust the bitch as far as I can throw her is all." Sighing, she leaned against the table and crossed her arms. "At least you and Dom came up with a plan together this time around," she chuckled, remembering how every plan of action Brian had last year, Dom would just come in out of nowhere and ruin it with his own.

"This isn't like last time, Eve. It's not gonna be easy." She smirked at him, chuckling under her breath. Last time was last year with Braga. That was easy? She sure as hell didn't remember it like that.

"Is it ever?" she posed to him and he slowly grinned.

"Wouldn't be any fun if it was anyway." Nodding, the two of them slapped hands and Eve pulled Brian to his feet.

Walking towards their rooms, she smartly said, "Besides, you need me." Scoffing, he shook his head and pushed her a little.

"You wish," he laughed.

"No seriously, you do." Finishing her water, she tossed the bottle at him and started walking backwards. "Anyone ever tell you that, every time you're around, everything just…goes to hell?"

"Bitch," he laughed, chucking the empty bottle at her, which she ducked.

"Pussy," she retorted. As she turned around to head to her room, Brian rushed up and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Pulling her against him, she laughed with him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Brian walked her up to her room and hugged her again, releasing her after a moment, and wished her goodnight. The moment he walked away, she realized that Brian had been right earlier. She didn't know when or how it happened, but Brian was absolutely right.

Blood or not, he really was her brother now.

P.S.: Eleven pages total.


	18. Chapter 18

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

Guess what, gang?! I have finished _Fast Six_! That part of this story will end in the first half of Chapter 27, so we still have a little ways to go until we get into _Tokyo Drift_. Now, here's some bad news: I may or may not post the _Tokyo Drift _portion of this story until after _Fast Seven _airs. Or, at least, I won't post the ending of it. Sung Kang is rumored to be in _Fast Seven _so he may have pulled a Letty and be alive (although it doesn't seem likely *epic sad face*) or it could be flashbacks. Either way, I have to wait to see what happens and what I can do with it. So bear with me!

**Chapter 18**

The next morning, Han pressed a kiss to her lips to wake her up. He told her to go ahead and she should go back to sleep since he was going with Dom and the other guys to hit Reyes' first cash house. It was to this statement that she snarkily asked him why he woke her up in the first place if he was just going to tell her to go back to sleep. Han laughed, kissed her again and headed out the door. Groaning, Eve sat up and slowly let herself fall to the floor and began stretching. For the past couple months, she'd been waking up sore and walking like a seventy year old woman for a good while. A few simple stretching techniques got rid of that quick, but she was definitely feeling that pain this morning. More than usual; the crap cot had to be responsible, that much was sure. The moment she finished, she walked out of the room with a refreshed smile and saw all the men gathered around two cars, each getting a shotgun or rifle, loading them up, and some masks.

"Have a good day at work, boys," Eve called jokingly, waving goodbye to them. She distinctly saw Brian giving her the finger while everyone else laughed, including her. As they pulled out, she waved once more before sighing deeply and walking over to Mia. "Brian gave me the lowdown last night," she stated. "How you doing?"

She smiled and sweetly answered, "Better now that everyone is here. How about you?" Eve scoffed a little.

"Wouldn't miss this for the world," she remarked.

"That's not what I meant." Eve sighed and ran a hand through her long blonde hair, a tired smile on her face. "What's been going on?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing," she answered easily. "Tokyo is great but it has been _sinfully_ boring. I'm actually glad you guys called, spiced things up."

Mia laughed and shook her head. "Glad to be of service," she told her, chucking a bottled water at her. Grateful, Eve took a large gulp but her eyes caught sight of Giselle over the rim.

Nodding at the other woman, she asked, "Who invited her?"

"Dom," was the short answer and Eve scoffed.

"Of course," she mumbled. At Mia's confused look, Eve quietly explained that they had met Gisele during the Braga incident. She decided not to mention the fact that the woman had flirted incessantly with Dom; Eve didn't think the man's sister would want to hear that.

Arms crossed, Mia turned her back on Gisele and subtly asked, "You don't trust her?"

"Doesn't matter what I think."

"Yes, it does." Eve stared at Mia, who looked seriously concerned, brow furrowed. "I need to know if I can trust her. I need to know if I can count on her take care of my boy, _our_ boys."

Taking a breath, she admitted, "Honestly, Mia, I wouldn't. She worked for a billion dollar cartel drug lord and gave him up to us."

"Braga," the other woman realized and Eve nodded.

"Whose to say she won't flip and do the same again? Give all of us up to Reyes? Powerful man like that, I'm sure he'd be willing to part with some cash for a problem like us to be handled." Shaking her head, Eve straightened her back and stared at the scrawny woman working on her motorcycle. "We don't really know anything about her so, no, I don't trust the bitch at all. But don't worry, I'm on it," she added, spotting the stressed look on Mia's face. "I'll keep an eye on her. Promise."

When the former fed left to return to her appointed room, Mia followed. Instead of going back to sleep, as Eve had planned, the two laid in her bed catching up. Mia filled Eve in on the more amusing and romantic parts of her and Brian's travels, while Eve told her all about Tokyo and the life she and Han had built there. She told her about their garage, the teens they had working under the table for them – Mia wasn't too happy about that little bit of info, but Eve assured her that the kids were not only paid well but they enjoyed the work – about the racing scene, everything. Mia excused herself, looking a little sickly, and Eve took that time to break out her cell and send a text to Wuji. She finally learned her lesson about calling him from a different timezone. Her message was simple: _Need info ASAP on former runner of Arturo Braga, name's Gisele._ When Mia came back, Eve smiled and set her phone aside. Hopefully, she'd have something in a max of twelve hours. All she had to do was wait patiently. But everyone knew that was never really Eve's strong suit.

When the men came back, they were practically jubilant and explained what had happened at the cash house they'd randomly selected to attack, one in Leblon. The man in charge had told them that they were all dead men, that they had no place to hide. Eve shook her head when Brian told her that all of them took off their masks, Dom proclaiming that they weren't hiding. Stupid decision if anyone asked her, not that anyone did; anonymity was their one advantage and the boys blew it. The boss asked them if they crazy, if they knew whose money they were stealing but that was the best part – they weren't stealing anything. Dom dumped lighter fluid on the pile of cash and lit it up. "You tell your boss _exactly _who did this. Tell him there's more coming," Dom had demanded. At least now she had something to occupy her time until Wuji came through with the information.

Everyone was sent out to watch the other cash houses. It wouldn't long until Reyes moved his money to be under lock and key. They needed to know where it would be moved to so they could formulate the rest of their plan. Tego and Rico had the first, Rome had the second, Gisele took three, Han had four, Tej had his eyes on five and six, Brian had seven, Dom had eight, and Eve followed the last one. Tej was their eyes in the sky, watching from the roof of a skyscraper and reported back to them, rather stunned, that they wouldn't believe where Reyes was consolidating his cash. Everyone met up with him on the roof of the parking garage across the street from the police station. The police station! Reyes had balls, Eve would give him that.

"Well, this job just got a lot harder," Brian sighed, eyes on the building.

"If he's moving it to a police station, he's got some serious brass in his pocket," Rome added with a scowl. Eve shook her head as Rico commented that it looked their trip was going to be shorter than he thought, Tego adding that they couldn't do this.

""Can't?" Han echoed and rolled his eyes. "You mean "shouldn't"."

"I've found the best parts of life are the things we shouldn't do," Eve retorted, smirking at him and nudged him with her hips. Han smirked back at her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I think this doesn't change a thing." Dom crossed his arms and stated, "I say we stick to the plan."

"You say what?" Rome gaped at him. "This just went from Mission Impossible to Mission In-Freaking-Sanity!" Brian looked back at his friend and smiled, but no one said anything to Rome. Dom didn't even look at him. "Whatever, man." As he walked back to his car, he called over his shoulder, "I ain't scared! I'm just letting y'all know, goin' in that building is crazy!"

"I got this," Brian assured Dom, running after Rome.

* * *

"The _beauty_ of public offices? Public records," Mia informed them with a smile, rolling the blueprints of the station out on the table. Once Brian had calmed Rome down, everyone journeyed back to their hideout where Mia had been hard at work.

"This is where he's keeping the money," Brian stated, pointing to a tiny spec on the map. "The vault in the evidence room."

"Sure to be secure," Eve added and crossed her arms. "Only a handful of people would even have access to the room and, anyone that doesn't, would have to go through a whole system of back-checking, get a permission from a higher-up. And, even then, Reyes owns the police. No one but who wants in that room is gonna get there." Shrugging, she let out a breath and muttered, "Smart man."

"Uh, yeah, can I get everyone's attention right here for a second? We're taking about breaking into a _police station_," Tej stated, very slowly, so they were all sure to understand. "Is anyone listening to those words? Anybody? Po-po, five-o, one-time, pigs – people we don't like."

"And people who don't like us," Eve pointed out with a careless shrug.

"You know, police stations are designed to keep people in, not out," Han reminded beside her.

"That's why it's a stealth mission. We'll be in and out before they ever knew we were there," Brian retorted with a confident nod.

"Stealth, right," Eve scoffed. "'Cause this group real good at the cloak and dagger routine." Mia ducked her head and smile while Brian and Dom stared her down, unamused. "What? Just stating the obvious. Our track record with keeping things on the hush-hush isn't great and you know it." Everyone knew that. Their life leaned more towards things getting smashed, blown up, destroyed, and all manner of other things but quiet? No, that was not one of them.

"Well, we'll need to get eyes in there. At least to find out the make and model of that vault," Dom stated.

"That's crazy," Rome muttered. "So whose supposed to do all this?" Everyone shared a look with one another before letting their eyes fall on him. As if sensing the weight of their stares, he looked up and stuttered, "Wha-what do you mean? Why me?"

"'Cause you got the biggest mouth," Brian told him with a smirk.

"That's for _damn_ sure," Tej muttered.

Slowly smirking, Eve asked, "Hey, Bri, you still got your FBI gear?" Confused, he nodded and asked why. "Go get 'em. I got an idea." Brian nodded and went to his and Mia's room to get his things as demanded. "Rome, go put on some nice clothes. Clean jeans, belt, button down. Look professional. You got any pictures of yourself on hand?"

"Just my license," he answered and pulled out his wallet. Eve snatched it from him and started rooting through it. "Hey! Damn gurl! Stop that!" he shouted, trying to get his wallet back from her as she started throwing stuff out on the table. "Stop! Brian, dawg! Your gurl done gone crazy!" Rome looked at Han, who was smirking and snacking on another bag of chips. "Help me out, man!" Han responded by offering the bag out chips.

"Here we go! Perfect!" Eve exclaimed, holding up a picture of Rome grinning like an idiot, his arm around a smiling Asian girl, both of them on a pier. "This'll work." Brian had come out with a bag and Eve walked over to him. As she walked by, Tej caught sight of the picture and turned to Rome, glaring at him.

"What you doing with Suki, dawg?"

"Uh..." Rome smiled and stuttered, trying to explain what had happened. Tej stepped up to Rome, looking ready to knock his teeth into his skull when Eve called out to him.

"Don't touch him!" she warned. "We need him looking pretty!" Tej back down, telling Rome he was lucky before sitting back at the table.

"I'ma just...go, and change," Rome stated and slowly backed out of the room. When Rome came back out of his room, looking professional as requested, in a blue and white stripped button down. He walked over to the table where Eve was putting the final touch on his new ID.

"Where'd you learn to do this?" Brian asked her curiously.

"A friend back at the Bureau, when I was still a good girl." She grinned and added, "How else do you think I've been traveling since I became a criminal?" Rome approached and she passed him Brian's old badge. Rome grinned and laughed as he placed the brass around his neck. He made an obscene gesture at Brian, who just shook his head and grinned. "And here is your ID, Officer O'Connor," she told Rome, passing it to him.

"That's what's up!" Rome crowed, laughing as he opened up the ID and saw his face smiling up at him where Brian's head should be. His smile quickly faded to a frown when he read the info on the ID. "It says I'm Caucasian!" he complained, holding up the badge.

"They won't be looking that close," Eve assured him.

"And what if they do?!" he sneered, waving the badge in her face again.

Pushing his arm down, Eve snapped, "Say you got a tan!" Rome scowled at her a moment, looking at the others as they chuckled at his misfortune.

"That's racist," he told her, pointing at her.

"Is not. And, if I was being racist, trust me, you'd know it," she retorted. The two stared one another down, neither backing down or blinking. Eventually, Eve rolled her eyes and told him, "Look, just go in there and tell them you have some evidence that needs to be held. But make sure you tell them that you have to check out the storage facility first."

"What if he says no?"

"Improvise," Tej told him. "You don't have to get in there. This does." The circuit man walked over, holding up an evidence box he'd made and a remote control car that had a camera mounted on it. Tej told him to make sure that the box made it into the evidence room because, once the box was in, he'd get the car to be their eyes for them.

* * *

Upon Brian, Tej and Rome's return, Tej told them that the plan went off without a hitch. The vault was a monster: seven by twelve, fitted with eighteen inch thick steel reinforced walls, insulated with a copper core to protect against thermo-lance, a class three electronic lock with a sure fire griffon tumbler and a biometric palm scanner. It was ten tons of top of the line security, and it was, in his words, one of the toughest vaults to crack. How Tej knew all that, no one needed to know. All of them had a life before they met each other, that was all they needed to know. But one thing he did know for sure, they needed a duplicate to practice on.

"Assuming you'll break the safe," Mia wondered, "how the hell do we get in?"

"Yeah, I've been thinking about the way in. The wall to evidence room?" Brian told them, pointing on the map. "That's alarmed, so that's not happening. Then we got this one here," he said, moving his hand across the blueprint, "but there's a guard shack outside, so that's no good. But this one?" he stated with a smile, pointing once again. "This one shares a wall with the basement bathroom."

"So what about the money?" Rome questioned curiously. "That's gonna be some heavy shit to move."

Han added, "You're talking about a five ton cash raid."

"Yeah, but that's the thing about the bathroom," Brian told them with a smile. "It's got a vent that leads to the parking garage. All we gotta do is pop that vent and then pass the money through to some waiting cars." Brian grinned proudly.

"Leo, Santo," Dom called out, disrupting Tego and Rico's game. "You're up."

It was just about three hours later, after they'd blown up the pipes underneath the men's room and posed as cleaning crew to get into the bathroom, that they were hardwired into the police mainframe. Four cameras, which Han told them were high end micro-optics, hundred degree field of view with a ten second isolation. It was a narrow window, far too narrow for their needs. Gisele wondered if they could just tap in and replace the image but Tej shot her idea down quickly. These cameras were a digital sync; they'd know they were in the system, which meant Reyes would know, which meant nothing good for them.

"The best we can do is peek," Tej informed them sullenly.

"We gonna need some real fast cars to get through this," Rome added.

"Not just fast," Han told him and pointed at the images. "You got a hard right and a hairpin. We're gonna need something agile."

"If this bitch didn't weigh five tons, I'd suggest bikes but..." Eve sighed and cross her arms.

"You guys mock up a track," Dom ordered before looking at Brian. "O'Connor, let's go get some cars."

Grinning, Brian said, "Nice." Eve rolled her eyes, deciding to keep her mouth shut. Her words of warning would just fall on deaf ears anyway. She'd learned that much after so many years.

* * *

"_She staring at you. Again_," Eve stated under her breath in Japanese. She at a table with Han, Rome and Tego, drinking and playing cards. The track Dom wanted made up was done so all they and to do was sit and wait.

Without looking up from his hand, Han responded in the same language, "_I can't help where she looks._"

"_You don't stop her either,_" she returned, her eyes flickering across the room to the topic of conversation: Gisele. Eve had noticed the scrawny bitch making eyes at Han since the day they'd arrive and Han hadn't helped matters either. He neither discouraged nor encouraged Gisele's staring; if he knew what was good for him though, he'd do the former.

Chuckling, he asked her, "_What do you want me to do? Blind her with a laser pointer?_"

"_That'd be nice,_" she returned. Looking at him, she added, "_Or you could tell her to back off before your girlfriend kills her._" Han sighed and popped a chip in his mouth. Rome and Tego looked at them in confusion before glancing at each other.

"Uh, you two better not be cheating in whatever the hell language that is," Rome told them, waving a hand between the two of them, "'cause that just ain't cool."

"Japanese and why? Scared you're gonna lose?" Han questioned with a smirk. Rome scowled at him and pointed a finger at him, a silent threat. But Han's smirk never let his face so the threat obviously didn't work.

"_This conversation isn't over,_" Eve muttered seriously. Han just reached a free hand over and gently squeezed her thigh.

Dom and Brian drive in a moment later, Brian driving a sky blue '01 Porsche 911. Papa Smurf, as Rome mocked, was the first car to test the track the rest of them had made up. Every time he tried it, though, no matter how hard he punched the engine or milked it, the camera always caught him. Faster cars were needed. Back to the races, every time. Rico, Tego, Tej, and Rome all tried but the camera caught all of them every time. Rico even smashed the tail of his car into the wall once, which was exactly why his ass wasn't driving. Gisele tried but the camera's caught her as well. She went to try once more and, not far from her, Eve heard Han mutter something under his breath. "I think I'm in love." Joke or not, Eve didn't like it. Scowling, she fixed her eyes on the track as Gisele sped to a stop for a fourth time. She asked how she did but Rome shook his head at her; she'd been about to climb back in for another go around when Eve stopped her.

"Why don't you let an actual racer have a go?" Eve stated, striding down the catwalk and towards the gorgeous silver '09 Nissan 37OZ. Gisele held out the keys to her, which Eve snatched without even sparing her a glance. Over her shoulder, she could hear some of the men – she guessed Tego and Rico – making sounds that were distinctly cat like. Whatever.

The moment she was in the car, she started up the engine and drove to her starting point. She revved the engine a couple times before Tej gave her the thumbs up to go. For the first time since they'd left Tokyo, she was behind the wheel of a car in the capacity that she wanted to be. Eve imagined she was back in Tokyo, back home at the parking garage where all the races took place. Her opponent wasn't the cameras, it was some young hotshot punk who thought he was better than her because he was a local and she was a gaijin. And she'd be damned if she was going to let that punk kick her ass. Eve punched the engine as hard as she could. When she changed gears, it was smooth and practiced. Perhaps not precise, like Brian or Dom but, then again, she wasn't a precision driver. But it was good enough for her. She didn't just turn the corners, she drifted like Han taught her and hugged them. Pulling back the front in a matter of seconds, she turned off the car and stepped out, looking at the others.

"How was that?" she asked anxiously.

"That was real solid work," Rome complimented and Eve grinned at her success. "But I think camera three still caught you," he teased with a grin. Smile slightly dim, Eve cocked her head to the side. She did love a challenge.

Nodding, she stated, "Then let's go again."

P.S.: Eight pages total.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

**Chapter 19**

Wuji pulled through for her, once again. Gisele Harabo a.k.a. Gisele Yashar, former agent for Mossad. Eve shook her head as she continued to read Wuji's email. Mossad was the Israeli version of the CIA; based in Tel Aviv, they were an intelligence agency responsible for intelligence collection, covert operations, and counter-terrorism. Eve had never seen anything about the woman that indicated a military past, other than her straight posture and penchant for carrying a gun. Mossad may have been a spy-like organization, like the CIA or FBI, but that didn't mean that agents were riding a desk and pushing pencils. Eve was living proof of that and, apparently, so was Gisele. Perhaps that was why Han didn't stop Gisele's stares and subtle flirtations. She was similar to Eve in the most basic sense, but she was different because she was new. A new toy, a new adoring skank for him to play with. Over her dead body.

"That the piggy bank you ordered?" Tego asked, snapping Eve back to reality. Shutting off her phone, she looked up at the giant box crate that housed the duplicate vault.

"You're kidding me." Tej gawked at the box. "Where in the _hell _did y'all get one of these?"

Sarcastically, Han responded, "Well, we had a life before you met us." Eve lightly backhanded his chest as a warning to be nice but Tej ignored him. Instead, he walked up and examined the vault.

"A'ight, well, I'll get to work on the electronic tumbler but, there's still another problem." Pointing to the keypad, he told them, "Palm scanner. And without Reyes' hand print, Houdini _himself_ couldn't open this bitch."

"How you know its Reyes' hand print?" Tego asked curiously.

"You got a hundred million dollars in a safe, you gonna put someone else's hand print on it?" Tej asked sarcastically. Rico started speaking in his native Dominican, shaking his head at his partner.

"There you go with that negativity, man. Shit is eating you alive!" Tego snapped at him. Rico didn't stop talking though. Much to everyone's amusement, Tego waved the drill he'd use on the crate at his friend. It buzzed it Rico's face and, soon enough, the two were shouting at each other.

"SHUT UP!" Dom ordered. The two men immediately fell silent. After all, Dom's word was law.

Curiously, Rome asked, "How we gonna get Reyes' hand print?"

"Han!" He looked up at Dom, who stood on the platform above them all, leaning on a railing. "You're up." Taking a deep breath, Han rubbed Eve's back before walking to his car.

"Sure. Nothing like the easy stuff." Gisele looked at the ground a moment, biting her bottom lip before perking up and following him.

"Let's go. I'll drive." Brow raised, Eve watched Han follow the other woman after a moments hesitation. Oh, hell no.

"Wait up!" Eve called out, striding after her man. "Being ex-FBI does come with some skill, 'ya know?" Looking very nonchalant, she strode over to Han's car and got in the passenger side, leaving Gisele to ride her bike. That was how it went for the next couple days: Eve would ride with Han in his Maverick and Gisele was forced to take her bike separately. Always separately. After about a week of shadowing Reyes, they picked up the pattern and decided to try t

heir luck one day. At a beach side pool party, the trio were chilling at a bar a few feet from Reyes, carefully observing him.

"I make six body guards," Han stated.

"Seven," Eve corrected.

Snootily, Gisele added, "You think the guy with the fanny pack is a tourist?"

"So, how long were you in the Army?" Han questioned, looking at Gisele, who didn't answer. Her eyes were focused on Reyes. Eve rolled her eyes but said nothing; she could have told him how long, after all, Wuji all but emailed her Gisele's private file. Not that Han wanted to read it, even after she'd told him that she was ex-Mossad. "That gun you pulled the other day, that was a Jericho 941. That was straight up Mossad." Listen to him, acting like he he was so smooth and observant. Eve took a big sip of her Malibu and Coke, rolling her eyes. She was the picture of nonchalance but, inside, just underneath her skin, her blood was boiling and not in a good way.

"I got out of the military," she began, looking at him, "probably the same time you quit smoking. The amount of chips you eat," she continued, looking back at their target as Han brushed off his hands in stunned silence, "the way you always have to keep your hands and mouth busy – you were a two pack a day man for sure." Turning back to Han, she added, "Unfiltered."

"Well, this is a bust," Han stated, getting back on target. "Not gonna be able to get his fingerprints out here. We could do some more recon, call a couple extra guys." Gisele turned to stare Han in his eyes and smirked.

"Or you don't send a man to do a woman's job."

As she turned away from the pair, she untied her cover-up and let it fall to the ground and strutted over to Reyes in her purple bikini. She was immediately let through and sat down on the arm of Reyes' chair. Han popped a chip in his mouth and Eve looked over at him, brow furrowed. All of a sudden, he was very tense. She stared at her boyfriend and followed his gaze, finding it fixed on Gisele. Just as she was let through by one of Reyes' guards, Gisele looked back at Han and smirked. Eve sneered at her, annoyed at the nerve of the bitch, and shifted on feet to look away at the beach behind them. She took a few calming breaths before looking back at the obscene display. Lips pursed, she watched Han watch the other woman as Reyes flirted with her. Eventually, he ran his hand down her back before settling on her ass, whole palm on the bikini bottom. Han smirked, knowing they got the hand print for sure. Eve looked between Gisele back and Han's face, scowling before slamming back her drink and stalking away from him.

Confused, Han called, "Eve?" He followed after her as she stormed back to his car. "What's the matter?" She didn't answer or even look at him so he grabbed her arm to stop her. Wrong move. She threw him off her but he persisted. "Eve, babe—" Whipping around, she a pointed a stern finger at him.

"_Don't_ "babe" me!" she snapped. Stalking to the Maverick, she quickly unlocked it and slide inside. Han patted down his body and reached into his pocket a moment before he realized that she'd picked his pocket. As she sat in the car, attempting to calm down, he calmly walked over and leaned down to the open window. She ignored him, instead focusing on adjusting the mirrors, so he knocked relentlessly on the roof, drumming out the beat to some annoying song, until she had no choice but to pay him attention. "What?!"

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving, I thought that was obvious," she snapped.

"How am I supposed to get back?" he asked with a smile, thinking she was messing with him. Eve paused before smiling coldly at him.

"Maybe Gisele will give you a ride." Han froze, smiling falling from his face as she stared at him. He'd been caught, he knew it, and he even looked genuinely ashamed. Shaking her head, she started up the car and peeled away, leaving him to stare after her. Gisele walked up behind him, cover-up on and her bikini bottoms in her hand.

"Where's she going?" Han looked at her and shrugged, sighing.

"Don't worry about. Let's go. I need a ride, by the way." Gisele just smirked and led him to her motorcycle. "This is gonna be fun," he muttered, unhappy at the prospect of riding bitch. The moment they got back at the warehouse, him and Gisele went over to Tej and Rome, passing them the bikini bottom with the hand print. After some joking around and finding out that the print actually did work, Han spotted Eve chatting quietly with Mia and walked over to her. "Hey, what's the matter with you?"

"Don't talk to me," she demanded. Eve excused herself from Mia and went to walk outside, but he followed her and tried grabbing her again. He tried to make her stop but she pushed him away.

"Eve—!" She started shouting at him in Japanese and, soon enough, he was doing the exact same thing. While he was calm, trying to calm her down, she was furious and wouldn't have any of his attempts to cool her off. Everyone in the garage was watching them, wondering whether or not to intervene. Brian decided to step up and walked over to them, about to tell Eve to go cool off when he noticed her make a gesture. A gesture at Gisele; Brian immediately understood.

"Hey! What the hell is going on?" Dom shouted as he entered the room, effectively shutting up the bickering couple. Brian stormed up to stand between Eve and Han, putting a hand on the other man's chest.

"Walk away," he uttered. It was a warning, plain and simple. Sighing, Han took one more look at Eve, who was trying to catch her breath and glaring at him, before walking away. Brian turned around and put his hands on Eve's arms, a concerned Mia joining him a moment later. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

Smiling shakily, Eve joked, "Nothing a bottle of Jack couldn't fix." Brian saw through the tough bitch act though; she was still upset and he could see her eyes misting over with unshed tears. Shaking her head, she ran her hands through her hair. "I need a cigarette," she told him and walked off, leaving their hideout for a few moments alone.

As she lit a cigarette, Eve wondered just what the hell had happened to her and Han. Things in Tokyo may not have been perfect but it had been theirs, their own private little domain to rule over. It was weird to think of it as such but, in a way, Han and her were the Dom and Letty of the Tokyo streets. Aside from DK, they ruled and people loved and respected them unlike DK, who only had respect out of fear of his family. So what had gone wrong? Maybe she had been right about her initial impression of him. Maybe he just wasn't the type of guy to settle down and be monogamous. Maybe joining him on the Rio heist was a mistake. Maybe she should've stayed home and taken care of the garage but, if that was true, then when – or if – he came back to Tokyo, would they be in the same place or would they be as they currently were? Would they be at each other's throats and unable to even look at each other? Eve didn't like this, she didn't like it at all. She felt clingy, needy, obsessively codependent and that wasn't her.

"Guys! Guys! We got a problem!" Mia called out to them, her voice echoing outside the garage. Eve stomped out her cigarette as she heard Brian tell them the whole team just got burnt. Perfect, she thought, now they were all wanted and Mia confirmed just that.

"How did this happen?" Gisele asked. Eve rolled her eyes at the idiotic question.

"US Diplomatic Security Service issued the warrants. Agent L. Hobbs." Eve froze where she stood and blanked out a moment as Dom confirmed that the man on the screen was who he saw in the favellas. Shit, that meant Hobbs was already in Rio. Brian proceeded to tell everyone that Hobbs was the leader of the elite task force for the DSS and that, when the FBI wanted to find someone, Hobbs was the man they called because he never missed a mark.

"This guy...he's Old Testament. Blood, bullets, wrath of God," Brian explained. "That's his style."

Concerned, Mia questioned, "And, right now, he's hunting us?" Brian nodded.

"Shit!" she gasped and immediately started grabbing her things that she had lying about the garage in a panic. The other watched her in confusion as Brian walked over to her.

"Eve, what are you going?"

"What's it look like?" she scoffed sarcastically, tossing shit into her bag. "I'm getting the hell out of dodge! I'm out the door, I'm on the fastest Goddamn plane out of this country, and I'm gone!"

"Eve, stop. Just calm down a second." But she couldn't, she had to keep moving, starting running, hiding. She had to, or else she'd die. "Eve, stop! STOP!" Brian grabbed her and forced her to look at him, stunned by the look on her face. In all the time he'd known her, he'd never seen her scared before. She was terrified. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"Why didn't you tell me he was here?!" she accused, demanding of Dom, pointing at the screen. The hulk of a man just stared back at her, arms crossed, unaffected.

"What does it matter?" Brian asked her and Eve pushed him away, shaking her head.

"You might know all the fairy tales about him, Bri, but Hobbs isn't just the best, he's a fucking _machine_," she snapped. "All we are to him are names on a list; a name comes up and he takes 'em down, not a phone call more, not a bullet less."

Tej shrugged, wondering what her problem was, and asked, "So, you know this dude?"

""Know him"?" she echoed and laughed dryly. "About seven years ago, before we were partnered up," she told Brian, "I was on a case to bring down this guy running a sex trafficking ring. You know, taking girls from the States and smuggling them overseas, that kind of stuff. Anyway, I was having some trouble finding the guy so Hobbs and his team were assigned to help me out. His methods were a little questionable so I called him on it. He didn't like that very much. I filed an official complaint. He liked that even less and it came to blows."

""Blows"?" Brian repeated, concerned.

"Man packs a hell of punch," she admitted with scowl. While the rest of the team mumbled and made some kind of exclamation, Eve kept her focus on Brian. Pulling him away from the others as not to hear, she revealed, "He fractured my eye socket, broke my collarbone, two of my ribs, three fingers and my wrist." Eve subconsciously rubbed her left wrist. "He was almost fired because of me, but DSS couldn't afford to lose their top man. He didn't like me before but my face is on that screen, Brian." She pointed at the damn computer again just to emphasis her point and she was right, her face was there. "I'm on his list and there's no one to stop him this time. He's never missed a mark..."

Brian put his hands on her shoulders and assured her, "He's not gonna touch you."

"You can't guarantee that," she argued.

"I am. He's _not_ gonna touch you, okay?" he stressed. "Just calm down." Eve let out a slow breath and nodded.

"Okay." She shrugged helplessly and Brian took her bag from her, setting it on the table behind her. As he pulled her into a hug, she muttered, "I know you said it wouldn't be any fun if it was easy, but did it have to be this much fun?" Brian chuckled and pulled back, squeezing her shoulders reassuringly as Han told Dom that they needed to move up their time line.

"Yeah, but how? This thing has already been difficult without Wyatt Earp on our asses," Rome pointed out. "If anything, we need _more_ room to breathe."

"Roman's right," Dom stated. Even Rome looked surprised that the man had said those words. "I think we need to get some fresh air." Eve crossed her arms and sighed quietly. This was beyond a bad idea.

* * *

The group dressed to the nines and set out into the night. When they arrived at the races, they were welcomed like family. Han leaned against Dom's Charger while, just across from him a few feet away, Eve stood beside Brian as he sat on the hood of Papa Smurf. She hadn't spoken to him since their fight, but she looked so tempting and gorgeous in skimpy shorts and a loose tank that showed off her toned mid-drift and hinted of the bikini top underneath. Not to mention the heels that had thin straps that went up her calves. She knew how he felt about heels like that, considering she only wore them for him; Eve hated stiletto heels, preferring the chunky heels of her boots. Popping a chip in his mouth, he watched as she laughed at Rome's over the top flirtations with the women around him. He watched as she took the drink a one of the many men that had been clamoring around her offered. It was yellow and he knew instantly that it wasn't her preferred Jack and Coke. But she drank it regardless and he'd been about to smirk, thinking she'd grimace but was surprised to find she was enjoying the drink. Popping another chip in mouth, he scowled at the sight of her happily being pulled to her feet by Rico to dance.

"Hey, Toretto!" Everyone's good mood immediately died and Eve perked up at the familiar voice. She turned away from Rico and spotted the mountain that was Hobbs and his team stomping over to them. "You're under arrest."

""Arrest"? I don't feel like I'm under arrest," Dom replied calmly. "How 'bout you, Brian?"

"No, not a bit." Brian looked over at Hobbs, face stony. "Not even a little bit. Eve?" From her place beside Rico, she crossed her arms and stared at Hobbs.

Trying to appear as calm and confidant as him, she replied, "Nuh-uh, me neither."

"Oh, just give it a minute. It'll sink in," Hobbs promised. Brian told him that they didn't kill the Feds, how that had been Reyes. "I don't give a shit! I'm just here to bring in three assholes whose names hit my desk."

"Yeah, that sounds like a real hero," Brian said sarcastically.

"Told you so," Eve remarked. Hobbs fixed his eyes on the pair of them and stepped forward. The moment he did, Brian gently eased Eve to stand beside him, his arm draped protectively around her waist.

"That's funny, coming from you two, who took the oath to uphold the law and then went against everything it stood for," he stated with a sneer at Brian and Eve before taking a step towards Dom, "or some wannabe tough guy prick who beat some man half to death with a socket wrench." Eve winced; that was not only a low blow but also incorrect. It had been a torque wrench. "Yeah, real tough," he snapped sarcastically, "you turn around and put your hands behind your back."

"I don't think so."

"Your mistake is thinking you got a Goddman choice, boy!" Dom stepped up to Hobbs and his team raised their guns at the team, cocked and ready to fire.

"And _your_ mistake?" Dom posed calmly. "Thinking you're still in America. You're _long_ way from home. This is Brazil!" Dom raised his hands and the majority of the racers in the crowd pulled out their guns, aiming them at the law. Eve did the same, relishing in the feel of having the bastard out numbered. One of Hobbs' men walked up to him and muttered in his ear a few times.

"I'll see you soon, Toretto," Hobbs promised.

"Looking forward to it, cop." The two stared at one another a moment longer before Hobbs turned on his heel and walked away. His team followed after him and, a moment later, their caravan was seen rolling out. Eve lowered her gun with a shaky sigh and looked over at the space where Hobbs' caravan had been. Tej was walking back over to them with his phone on his ear. He sauntered up to them with a smile, telling them that it worked; Hobbs was on their radar now, he was _their_ bitch.

* * *

Han tried to beat the camera later that night but, just like everyone else, the camera's still caught him. Enough was enough and he told Dom just that. The window was too small; the only way they were gonna beat them was with invisible cars. Dom just smirked at him and proclaimed that the knew just where to get some. Despite his protests that she should stay at the warehouse with Mia, Tego and Rico, Eve tagged along. While Gisele drove them, she, Brian, Dom, Han and Rome all climbed onto the roof of the van and then jumped to the fence of the police station lot. They hopped down, Brian stopping to catch Eve before Han had a chance to and all of them bolted for a car. Eve sped down the road in her cop car, pulling up next Dom, who was beside Brian.

"Been awhile since I been behind the wheel of one of these," Brian commented.

"First time I've ever been in one," Eve told him, as the FBI never rolled in standard police vehicles.

"First time I ever been in the front seat," Dom remarked and the other two chuckled. Engines coming up behind the pair turned their attention to their right as Han and Rome lined up next to them.

"Hey, Rome, what took you so long!" Brian called with a grin. "I thought for sure you'd be showing up with some chrome spinners or something." Eve couldn't help but snort with laughter at the other man's expense.

Laughing sarcastically, he replied, "Real funny." Pulling down the walkie, he announced over the megaphone, "I got a hundred thousand says I can take you all the next quarter mile."

"Yeah, your broke ass has got a hundred grand," Brian observed skeptically. Rome just replied that, if they pulled this job off he would. Next two lights, a hundred thousand was the standing bet.

"We don't pull this job off, we're probably dead anyway," Han commented. "Let's make it a million." Brian nodded and said he liked that bet, agreeing immediately.

Rome came over the megaphone again, telling them, "Only live once. Let's do it."

Eve shook her head and stated, "Y'all are stupid." Nonetheless, she revved her engine like the rest of them and grinned. "But I'm down."

"What you say, Dom?"

"We talking or we racing?"

"Just don't cheat this time."

Dom smirked and told him, "Gotta let that go."

"Have you met him, Dom?" Eve questioned with a smirk. "He never lets shit go."

"Bitch," Brian called out to her.

"Pussy!" Revving her engine, she shouted, "Ride or die, boys!"

The light turned green and they all took off, Rome speeding out ahead of all of them with high lights flashing and siren blaring. She didn't care if she beat Dom, she knew she never would and didn't even care to try. If she beat Brian, it would've been nice – and not just because she could hold it over his head for the resto f his natural born life – but he wasn't her focus. Han was focus. She'd never been able to beat Han. If she could just get one up on him, it'd be worth losing a million dollars. The boys made it easy though and left an opening up, allowing Dom to pull ahead. But Brian wanted it, bad, and soon enough, he was neck and neck with Dom. She looked to her left and saw Han, just as he looked at her. Feeling particularly bitchy, she raised her hand to flip him her middle finger and punched the card forward. Eve pulled up beside Brian and Han beside Dom while Rome fell behind all of them. Eve laughed and screamed in frustration as Brian pulled out ahead of all of them at the last second. He just won four million, if they pulled off the job. All of them traveled back to the warehouse, parking triumphantly with their prizes. Eve stepped out of the car with a smile and wandered over to Rome and Han.

"You think he saw it?" Eve asked the two men beside her.

"Not a chance," Han replied.

"Bet you he didn't," Rome added.

"Just don't bet another million," Eve teased and Rome laughed sarcastically at her before scoffing. As they walked up to Brian, Dom was walking away after congratulating him on a nice race.

"You know how long I been waiting for that shit?!" Brian crowed, slapping hands with Rome and pulling him into a hug.

Han shook his head and told them, "Told you he didn't see it."

"See what?"

"Your man right there? He let off the throttle at the line." Brian stared at him, not comprehending so Rome made it real simple for him to understand. "You didn't do nothing. He let you win."

"Bullshit!" Brian laughed as both Han and Rome walked away. He looked at Eve who just raised her brows at him and nodded before patting his shoulder, walking away with a shake of her head.

P.S.: Nine pages total.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

**Chapter 20**

Eve sat on one of the many work benches near the police cars. She decided to take a break from her and focus on something more important instead: home. She'd been busy emailing and texting Earl, Reiko and Twinkie for the better part of the day, checking after the garage. It seemed that Han had forgotten that they weren't on vacation and had a business to run as he hadn't checked in with the kids at all. Typical, leaving all the paperwork to her. Today was meant to be a relaxing day for the team, a break from all the hard work they'd done. Well, sort of a break. To a normal person, modifying the cop cars to suit their needs would seem like work but, for them, it was a siesta after all the crap that had gone down. Mia was actually out getting food for lunch, a nice family lunch. Although not everyone gathered was family, not to Eve at least. She didn't voice this opinion, not wanting to ruin the peaceful day, but that didn't stop her from glaring daggers into Gisele's back. At least until Han stopped talking to her and started heading Eve's way, in which case she became laser focused on her phone.

"We gonna talk about this or what?" Han asked, his tone giving nothing away.

"There's nothing to talk about," she replied, tone just as blank and dead. Her eyes never left the message she was typing to Reiko, the only one of the the three teens she trusted to actually follow through, with explicit instructions of what to order for the garage.

"Eve, please..."

""Eve, please"," she mocked.

He sighed, "Eve, come on—"

""Eve, come on"."

"Quit acting like a child," he told her. Eve sent the email and closed her phone, looking up at Han seriously.

""A child"?" she echoed and nodded slowly. "I'd rather be a child, than a whore." Whether she was referring to him or Gisele, Han didn't know although, if he were a betting man, he'd bet it was both of them. Rising to her feet, she gently pushed him away from her. "How about we make a deal? We don't talk to each other unless absolutely necessary for the rest of this job."

"And when its done?" he wondered.

Eve shrugged and replied, "Sort shit out then." The sound of shuffling snapped both of them out of their tiff. Eve looked at the entrance of their hideout and spotted Mia walking it, Vince behind her. What the hell? "Shit," she muttered and spotted Brian rising to his feet, looking to kill. Pushing away from Han, she ran over to grab Brian and pull him away as Mia pushed him back.

"No, it's okay. Hey, wait!" Mia exclaimed, keeping Brian at bay. "Reyes' guys were waiting for me at the market. Vince saved my life," she explained. Apparently, it wasn't safe for any of them, not even Mia, to be seen in public, especially not unarmed. They'd been tracking her.

"You hungry?" Dom called from underneath the hood of an engine.

Eve scoffed and stated, "He's _always_ hungry." Dom and Vince stared at her, eyes glazed over, and then she remembered why. Letty, she'd always said the same thing about Vince. She cleared her throat and crossed her arms, looking at the ground.

Vince stared at her and responded, "Yeah, sure."

"Good, 'cause you're saying grace."

Reluctantly, Brian held out his hand and said, "Thanks, Vince." Surprisingly, Vince shook the offered hand and the couple walked away from him. Eve watched them go, watched Mia pass off the food – BBQ, what else? – to Tego and Rico before turning back to Vince. His stony gaze bore into her and she just stared back.

"Well," she said with a shrug, "this is awkward." She chuckled quietly but he just stared at her, unblinking. Back when she'd first met Vince, he didn't scare her, he didn't intimidate her. But now, before her, after she put him behind bars and she didn't have the law behind her anymore? He was definitely more intimidating, especially since he'd gotten bigger.

"Fed," he greeted with a low rumble. "How's it feel?" She asked him what he meant and he smirked. "To be on the other side of a Wanted poster?"

Eve sneered and smiled at him, "Cute, Vince. Real cute." He chuckled as she walked away, joining the rest of the crew around their "living room".

As she sat at the couch beside Rome, she didn't spare a glance at Han on the other side with Tej. The smell of the ribs Tego was cooking was terrible, mixing with the motor oil; Eve shouted to him to not burn the damn things but she knew she was wasting her breath. Rome asked Tej what he was going to do with his split of the cash, to which he responded he was going to open his own garage, a place where people could go and trust that they weren't going to get ripped off. Rome thought he was crazy, a millionaire giving himself a day job, but Eve nodded respectfully at the circuit man and clinked her drink with his own. Rico proclaimed he was going to get Tego cooking lessons. He set down a plate of done ribs and Eve picked them up in disgust. She knew she'd been wasting her breath; they were burnt to hell, completely inedible. Rome joked he could go be a chef at an animal shelter and Eve laughed at the sight of the burnt ribs. Eventually, Han got up and grabbed another beer, walking away from the group. Eve glanced over her shoulder and saw him head over to Gisele.

"What about'chu, Eve?" Tej asked, noticing her distracted gaze. Unlike the others, Brian and Mia aside, he had noticed the tension between the once happy couple. He didn't think the way Han was stepping out on his girl was right, but it really wasn't his place to say anything. After all, it wasn't like he hadn't done it before. "What you gonna do?"

She took a deep breath and answered, "I don't know. Han and I...well, _he_ has a garage back in Tokyo. I run it with him but I'm not a partner or anything." Taking a long pull of her drink, Eve pondered for a moment just what she was going to do. She looked over at Han and Gisele and frowned, a lump forming in her throat. Noticing the pitiful looks she was being given, Eve downed the rest of her drink and told Rome to get her another. "Don't worry about me, boys. I always land on my feet."

"We're less than twenty-four hours from the biggest celebration of our lives," Rome proclaimed, handing Eve her next drink and walking over to Brian and Mia with two more beers. "Y'all need a refill, this is serious stuff." Mia denied the beer with an easy smile from Brian's lap, his arms around her. "Cheers, baby."

"No, she can't," Brian told him, clinking his glass with his friend.

"What do you mean?" Brian reiterated that she couldn't drink. "What d'ya mean she can't? What does-what does...?" Smiling, Brian rubbed Mia's stomach affectionately. "Are you serious right now?! Is that the reason you let him beat you in the quarter mile?" Rome called to Dom and laughed loudly, drawing everyone's attention to him. "That was a baby gift!"

"No, that's messed up!" Brian protested seriously, pulling away from kissing Mia while she laughed, agreeing that it was. Whether she was agreeing with Brian or Rome though, Eve couldn't tell.

"That was a baby gift!"

"No, you're not taking that from me!"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Now, hold on a second," Tej interjected seriously, ambling over to the couple. Looking at Mia very seriously, he asked, "So, did he just smack the ass or did he grab the whole thing? Which one was it?" Eve walked over to the laughing foursome, Brian covering his face in embarrassment.

"You're pregnant?" Eve asked, stunned. Mia grinned and nodded, laughing as Eve pulled her out of Brian's arms and into her own. "Congratulations!" Pulling away from Mia, she grabbed Brian, who was grinning like a fool and hugged him tight.

"Crazy, huh?" he told her, pulling away to slap hands with Han.

"So that's why you guys didn't split up," Eve remarked. She'd always been wondering why the couple and Dom stayed together; it was dangerous. It made more sense for them to split up and hightail it out of Rio.

"I made them promise we'd stick together," Mia explained with a smile.

"You got them so whipped." The two women shared a laugh, Eve congratulating her once again.

Brian wrapped his arm around Mia's waist and asked her, "How you feel about being an aunt?"

""Aunt"?" Eve looked at Mia, who nodded at her. Grinning tearfully, Eve nodded and laughed happily as she exclaimed, "Hell yeah!" The couple laughed, pulling her into a hug with them. "Family just got bigger." Brian kissed her cheek affectionately, walking over to a grinning Dom.

"It's your boy! Why would you keep something like that away from me?" Rome asked jokingly, singing to Mia. Eve slapped him upside his head, however, when he joked with Tej, wondering what happened to the pull-out method.

"Toast!" Dom called out and everyone gathered around in a circle, drinks in hand. "Money'll come and go, we know that. The most important thing in life will always be the people in this room. Right here. Right now." Eve looked to her left, where Han stood beside her, looking down at her. "Salud, mi familia." Everyone echoed his words and clinked glasses together. Eve took a long pull of her own, eyes fixed on Han. The two stared at one another sadly, their own future uncertain. Later that night, after everyone else had gone to sleep, Brian and Eve sat up together. They worked on her cop car's engine together; it surreal, like they were back in the garage at FBI headquarters last year.

"Hey, Eve, what are your parents like?" he asked curiously. She paused in her worked and looked at him curiously.

"My parents are dead," she answered, wondering why he wanted to know.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Eve, I didn't—"

"It's okay. You didn't know," she assured him, waving off his concern. "They died about nine years back; my dad on the job and my mom a couple months later. Car crash," she explained. Brian asked her if her father was a cop and she laughed. "Oh, hell no! My dad didn't even go to college. No, no, my dad did construction. He built everything from bridges and skyscrapers to houses and hospitals, schools; even did small around-the-house kind of jobs. Everything." Walking away from the engine, she hopped up onto the work bench and picked up her drink with a smile. "They were high school sweethearts, my parents. My mother was a Senior when he was a Sophomore actually; the lead soprano in the school choir and the star soccer player," she revealed with a slightly mocking tone and roll of her eyes. "So, a couple years out of high school, they got married and had me. Didn't last long though," she told him with a shrug and frown, "they got divorced when I was two and I had to live with my mom. My dad was into drugs or something, I'm not sure; I never asked for the details and no one ever told me, but I'm guessing, whatever it was, was the reason she left him. I didn't really want to know. Even now, I don't." And it was true. Even when she had all the tools at her disposal to look up what he had been put away for, she never did. "I still have this image of him in my head, he was my hero and I was a Daddy's Girl, and that's something I don't ever want to change. You know what I mean?" Brian didn't say anything though, he just sat beside her.

"Anyway, the court ordered that I could see my dad twice a week, and spend the night with him at my grandparent's house, under their supervision, every other weekend. I remember how those two days a week, he'd sit me down at the kitchen table and help me with my homework. I didn't get desert a lot of nights because I wouldn't eat my vegetables and I hated math," she told him with an amused smile and the pair of them shared a chuckle. "I remember him coaching my softball team the three years that I played. I was terrible." Brian snorted with laughter at that admission and she pushed him playfully. "I remember him video-taping every dance recital I had. Every one, for nine years. And I remember the weekends I was with him, on Sunday, we'd get up real early and watch the _Three Stooges_ with the burnt bagels he'd make us and then we'd go to the movies. We'd always sneak in candy from the Dollar Store. And he always let me pick movie and he never complained." Somber, she admitted, "I was never really close with my mom. I mean, I lived with her and I came from her but…I didn't feel anything for her. I honestly don't really remember her." Brian looked over at her and noticed that she was genuinely struggling to recall something about her mother with the same tender lover and affection she had her father. But she couldn't so she sighed and took a drink. "But I loved my dad. I remember everything about my dad. Everything."

"I don't remember shit about my dad. I don't remember him yelling, I don't remember him smiling. To be honest with 'ya, I don't even remember what the hell he looked like. I don't remember 'cause…he was just never there."

Seriously, Eve told him, "That's not gonna be you, Brian. You _love_ Mia, you're a great guy and you're gonna be a _phenomenal_ father." Brian smiled at her and clinked his glass with her own. Eve shrugged and added, nonchalantly, "Besides, if you leave 'em, I'll help Dom kill 'ya."

Laughing, he asked, "Promise?"

"Oh, yeah!" Brian wrapped his arm around her shoulders, hugging to her side as she put her free arm around his waist.

* * *

"I'm all set."

"Hey, Santo, we good?"

"We're always good, bro."

"Hobbs is on the other side of the city!" Mia called out from the computer. "We're not gonna get a better window."

"Okay, guys, it's show time! First team, in position, let's go!" Dom ordered and, immediately, everyone but himself, Brian, Mia, Vince and Eve rolled out of the warehouse. As Dom walked towards his Charger, Eve not far from him, she heard Vince call out.

"I got eyes on Mia," Vince assured him. Dom nodded gratefully and went on his way but Eve walked back over to him and held out her hand. Vince stared at her and, this time, she didn't waver, she didn't shift.

"Familia, Vince," she stated simply, respectfully. Slowly, the other man shook his head and slapped her hand. Looking over at Mia, she quietly told him, "Thank you." He nodded his head and went back to the engine he was working on as she walked over to the happy couple. "One hour away from the rest of our lives," she told the pair with a smile. That quickly faded as she heard Vince shout out that the cops had invaded their base and once of Hobbs' trucks crashed through the walls.

Eve cursed as Hobbs announced that he'd found the tracking chip and flipped the receiver. Running over to Brian, she pushed him to Mia and ordered him to get her out. Not that it did any good as Hobb's men came at all of them with guns. Eve told them to run while she and Vince held them off; two of the men ran after Brian and Mia but the other two? The other two belonged to them. Vince stood beside her, holding a torque wrench while she held up her fists and got into position. The two nodded at one another, prepared to fight. Vince charged at the one closest to him, whacking the gun out of his hands with the wrench while Eve slightly bounced, like a boxer to the one near her. She faked left before sending a roundhouse kick to the man's head. His gun clattered to the ground and he raised his fits, punching at her but she blocked each one until he slammed a kidney shot to her side. The blow sent Eve to her knees and the man punched her face, splitting her lip. He grabbed her by her hair with one hand and his gun with the other, shoving the muzzle into her side before he shoved her into Vince. Much to her surprise, the man helped to steady her. Familia, she realized, familia.

Hobbs' men had them surrounded, guns raised, as the window before them crashed open, Hobbs flying through atop Dom and both of them crashing to the floor. Mia cried out for her bother as Hobbs ordered his man to stand down, that he had everything under control. But he obviously didn't as Dom managed to get on top and continued to pound on Hobbs. Back and forth it went with both of them getting the upper hand on one another, Mia and Vince shouting for Dom. Hobbs picked up a wrench to bash in Dom's head but the other man rolled out of the way in time. The two went back and forth, pounding at one another under everyone's gaze. Dom managed to get on top again and grabbed the wrench the fed had dropped and raised it high.

"DOM!" Mia roared tearfully and the wrench hit the ground beside Hobbs' head.

Guns coked around them and Dom rose to his feet, hands behind his head. Hobbs and his men handcuffed the five criminals and loaded them into his truck, taking off down the road. Hobbs' stat-phone rang and told his superiors that they were coming in, ordering for the Marshal's to meet them at the airport when they landed. So this is it, Eve though despondently as she looked over at her friends, her family, this is how it ends. She wondered where she would end up, which prison. She'd taken down more men than women in her life as a fed but that didn't mean there weren't women. And it sure as hell didn't mean that the men she'd put away didn't have friends or connections in whatever dark hole she'd find herself in.

"AMBUSH!" Hobbs warned and a loud explosion followed a moment later. The car slammed to a stop as it trampled over a car and gunfire rained on them. "Wilkes, oppression fire, shut 'em down!" he called over the walkie and turned to his partner in the driver seat. "Chato, cover me!" Hobbs turned to the female cop and told he to watch them as he jumped out his vehicle and started firing at Reyes' men.

"Cut us loose!" Brian told her.

"Come on, cut us loose!" Vince demanded. The woman cursed before doing just that. As she was cutting them, they heard two more explosions from outside. One, Eve recognized, as a missile from a damn rocket launcher. The other one, she spied out the window, was definitely from a grenade. The moment all of them were free, the guys grabbed the nearest guns and headed out the back.

"What are they doing?" the cop demanded.

"What's your name?" Eve asked calmly, cocking a sniper rifle and checking the scope. As the woman answered, Eve looked at her. "Okay, Elena, I'm gonna need you to park your ass in the driver's seat and get this beast ready to move. Got that?" The woman didn't answer so Eve responded in the only way she knew how; time was of the essence. "Got it!" she shouted, aiming a handgun she pulled between her eyes. Elena nodded slowly and, reluctantly, climbed into the driver's seat. "Mia, I need you to stay here."

"You can't ask me to do that! They're out there—!"

"Mia!" Eve shouted and put her hand on her shoulder. "We need you to stay here." She moved her hand down to her friend's stomach as a silent reminder. "Stay. I'll cover our boys. Don't worry."

Mia sighed and nodded her consent, quickly hugging the other woman. Eve jumped out the back of the tank Hobb's rolled in and raised the rifle, taking aim and firing at the various men she spotted on the roof. Running up to stand next to Brian, she nodded at him and took aim in front of her. She didn't aim to injury, like she used to. No, she aimed to kill the men trying to charge her and her family. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Dom walk over to Hobbs and, instead of shooting him like he probably should have, he helped the man up and carried him back to their escape ride. Eve and Vince backed up slowly, covering the boys as they hobbled inside. Dom was their father, Brian their brother; the two of them mattered more than anything else, than any other bullshit going on in their lives. Vince shouted for her to get in and she hesitated a moment before quickly ducking inside. Vince climbed up a moment later and she pulled him inside, slamming the door shut behind them.

"We good?" Elena asked as Mia climbed into he passenger seat, telling her to go. There was only one shooter left as they sped down the road, trying to catch their breath. Eve collapsed next to Brian, his arm around her. He pressed his face into her head, panting and squeezing her should, holding her close. The pair of them caught Mia's gaze and nodded at her; they were okay.

"Hey, Dom," Vince muttered. "You gotta meet my son, Nico." Dom swore he would and Eve looked over at Vince, spotting him clutching his side. He was bleeding, badly. His blood was practically black; that wasn't good at all. None of them made a move to help, knowing as well as Vince that it was too late to do anything. "He's a good kid. You know, we named him after you. Dominic."

"You got my word, Vince."

* * *

"We need to move," Dom ordered as he walked past everyone, "we don't have that much time." Han told him that there was a flight out and they could leave Rio in their rear view in the next five hours. "Not to run away! To finish the job."

"Are you crazy, Dom?" Gisele exclaimed incredulously. "We can't!"

"It's a suicide mission. That's your man over there on the table!" Rome added, gesturing toward Vince's body covered with a tarp. "The plan is busted! This is bullshit, man! Reyes _knows_ we're coming!"

"He's right," Tej added. "They tripled the detail at the police station. It's gonna be a wall of gunfire." While Hobbs had been attempting to arrest them, Tej and the others had gone on as planned. They were surprised to find that detail had increased. Apparently, Reyes had every cop on his payroll at the station guarding his cash; God Himself wouldn't be able to to it. It had only been when Dom, Brian and Eve hadn't shown up, they'd known something was wrong and called off the job themselves. When they'd returned to home base and saw the mess, they knew something was really wrong.

"Reyes doesn't get away with this," Dom stated but no one else was hearing it. Han told him that it was a trap, that even Dom knew that. Elena told him to listen to his team and run before it was too late so he could be free. "Running ain't freedom. You should know that." Turning away from his crew, Dom head up the catwalk and told them, "You know you're all free to make your own choices."

"I'm in!" Everyone paused and turned their surprised gaze to Hobbs. "I'll ride with 'ya, Toretto. At least until we kill that son of a bitch." Reyes hadn't just killed Vince, he'd killed Hobbs' entire team. It was personal. The two men nodded at each other, both knowing that as soon as Reyes was done, Hobbs would be back to chasing all of them.

"So what's the plan, Dom?" Brian asked. "Can't just go sneaking around anymore."

"We don't sneak," Dom answered easily. "The only thing he cares about is his money. We pull that, we pull him."

P.S.: Eight pages total.


	21. Chapter 21

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

**Chapter 21**

The team spent the rest of the night reworking their initial plan. Because of Hobbs and Elena's involvement, the major detail of their plan remained hidden. Instead of arguing about who would do what in the change, Eve opted to stay behind with Mia and Tej. After all, the entire team was going to need knew IDs and who better to help the best known circuit man and tech master than her? Tej may have known how to make fakes that would pass tests but, as a former Fed, Eve knew what was looked for, all the tricks, and she knew how to make sure their new IDs would last forever. The group knew that as soon as the new identification hit their hands that they wouldn't be seeing one another for a long time, if ever again, but that was a risk they'd be willing to take if it meant "clean" records. As such, so they'd be ready to go by the time the job was done, Eve stayed up all night working on the IDs; Mia even made her a huge pot of coffee. She fell asleep at one point though and, when she jerked herself awake, a new cup was waiting for her. Caramel almond frappe with extra whip, her favorite; only Han knew that. Ignoring the jab in the back of her mind, she got back to work, starting with Han. Since Eve stayed back, Dom told Hobbs and Elena they would be leading Brian and Dom to the station in their beast of a car. Their job was to bust out the concrete wall that housed the vault. One it was open, Dom and Brian would hook up the vault to the back of their cars and they'd drag it straight out of the station and onto the main streets.

"_Call it out, Mia!_" came Dom's voice over the radio.

"You got a straight shot for two blocks. Go right," Mia ordered her brother. Eve glanced up a moment, pausing in her work with Tej as they waited for word. Eventually, they saw Mia smile and she relayed to the boys, "Well, the plan's working. You guys have every corrupt cop in Rio on your tail. You guys have to move fast." Tej and Eve grinned and fist-bumped at their success, both of them going back to their work. Brian came over, asking for the best route and Mia told him to keep going straight for another half mile and then go left.

"_That ain't gonna work,_" Dom informed her.

"_Spikes ahead, darling!_" Brian added. "_We got spikes!_" Dom told her that they were going right. "_Nah, it's too tight. We're not gonna fit._"

"_We got no choice! Now!_" The trio waited on bated breath for the boys to come back and give them some kind of word. But nothing ever came. Instead, Mia's computer's flared with the local police's radios.

"Guys, I am hearing all this chatter. Did you just take out a bank?" she asked, unable to stop her incredulous laughter.

"We don't sneak," Eve muttered under her breath, echoing Dom's words from last night as she worked on Rico's ID. "Ain't that the damn truth." Across the table, Tej snickered at her but Eve just shrugged innocently. Dom called over tat they had two cops inbound.

Calmly as she could, though Eve could see her fidgeting, Mia replied, "Alright, there's an alley coming up on your left."

"_Yeah, I got it,_" Brian assured her. Eve let out a deep breath and lit a cigarette, allowing the nicotine to settle her nerves as much as it could. Through the smokey haze, she could see Tej scowling at her like petulant father, shaking his head at her. She just flipped him off and tosses Rico's ID to the side, moving onto the last one: Tego's. "_Alright, good job, Dom. Right handed, right here. Right handed._"

"Guys, there's a big group coming at you from the south. You have to do something _now_." Over the radio, they could hear Brian telling Dom to go wide. What for, the trio could only guess. Knowing Brian, it was bound to be something messy. The radio chatter around Mia confirmed just that; the boys were doing a bang up job with the second part of their plan: taking out all of the corrupt cops in Rio.

"_You're all clear on the left,_" Han announced. A moment later, Rome's laughing voice came over and announced that they were clear on the right as well and Dom thanked them both. "_Any time._"

Rome ecstatically crowed, "_I'll see you on the other side!_"

"You guys just carved out a _ten second _window. Make it count!" In those ten seconds, the trio knew that the secret Hobbs knew nothing about would take place. In that moment, the boys would approach their perfectly placed garbage truck. Gisele would be behind the wheel, keeping it at an appropriate pace to cradle the real vault as Dom and Brian let it slide inside and unhooked it from their remotes. Rico and Tego were outside, acting as their garbage men. They did the quick work of hooking the boys up to the double vault that was attached to the front. Ten seconds well spent.

"_Hey, there's too many of 'em! We're not gonna make it!_" Brian called out.

"Y_ou're right. We aren't,_" Dom conceded. "_YOU are._"

"What are you talking about?" Brian asked confusedly.

Rushing to Mia's side, Eve muttered, "As if he doesn't know."

"Just let the vault go. Get out of there!" Mia demanded.

"_You're a father now, Brian._"

"_No, I'm not leaving you! Now you stick with the plan!_"

"_It was ALWAYS the plan,_" Dom reminded him and swiftly ordered, "_Take care of Mia._"

"Dom, you listen to me now, okay? You cut loose, right now!" Mia begged tearfully. Eve wrapped her arm around Mia's shoulders, rubbing them as they lost all communication with the boys.

It was five agonizing minutes of torture for the group. During that time, Han and Rome rolled into the home base and Gisele, Rico and Tego arrived moments later. While the others set about helping Tej set up his equipment and getting the vault in place, Eve went back to finishing up Tego's ID. The moment it was done, she tossed it on top the pile with the others and immediately made her way back to Mia's side. The woman was hysterical as Eve did her best to calm her down. When the boys finally called and told them they were on their way, that they'd be there soon, it was a massive relief to both women. The moment they arrived, the women rushed at them and hugged them tight. They didn't both with one first than alternating, it was just one big group hug. The others joined them, shaking their hands and clapping their backs at their success with not only the vault, but with Reyes' dirty cops. Brian informed them that Hobbs killed Reyes on the bridge, revenge for his team. Not only that, Hobbs said that all of them had twenty-four hours, a head start, and that they should use the time to make peace whatever demons they had left.

"'Cause, come tomorrow, he'll find us," Brian told them with a stupid grin on his face.

"I'd love to see him try," Eve retorted, passing everyone their new IDs with a proud grin. Everyone except Tej, as he was working his computer magic on the vault; instead, she set his on the work table. "With these new passports, IDs, licenses, everything, Sherlock Holmes couldn't find us. With these, we disappear. Forever." As she passed Han his new papers, she noted that Gisele was standing close to his side. She eyed the two a moment in disgust, shaking her head before walking away to stand beside Mia and Brian, arms crossed and anxious.

"Come on, baby. Don't be mean," Tej muttered after a series of beeps.

Tej set down his laptop and held the X-ray of Reyes' hand print that he made up and a loud click was heard. Everyone held their breath but Tej's shoulders immediately relaxed, hanging his head. He looked at everyone over his shoulder before placing his hands on the wheel of the vault and slowly turning it. As he eased the door open, money piled up to the ceiling of the vault spilled out onto the floor. The cards Rico had been playing with flew out of his hand while Tego began cheering in Dominican. Rome started hooting and hollering, jumping over the bars of the catwalk. Eve laughed and crashed into Tej, wrapping her arms around his neck as she affectionately kissed his cheek. Rome pulled her away and spun her around, causing her to shriek with his jubilant laughter. As soon as all the cash was split up, a little over ten million to each of them, everyone started to head out. Rico and Tego mentioned hitting the casinos in Monaco, which seemed like a terrible idea to Eve but those two were the most stubborn idiots she'd ever met. Tej and Rome, however, said they were heading back to Miami; one to do whatever he wanted and the other to open that garage he dreamed of. As Brian and Mia said their goodbyes to Dom, Eve gently pulled Han away from the Gisele with a glare.

The moment they were out of hearing distance, she sighed and quietly asked him, "Remember how you said we'd go all over the world? Remember what you told me?" Han nodded, hands in his pockets as they stared sadly at each other. "You said "Let's leave"."

"I remember," he replied. Eve let out a breath and ran a hand through her hair.

"Was it all a lie?" she asked tearfully, voice choking up.

"No," he swore.

"This is why I didn't want to come to Tokyo in the first place," she reminded him. Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she sneered at him and said, "Thanks for proving me right."

Han reached for her, softly pleading, "Eve—"

"Shut up!" she snapped, pushing his hand away from her. Glaring at him, she squared her shoulders and stated, "You're a bastard. I don't love you anymore. And I never want to see you again." Walking around him, she walked up to Brian and hugged him tightly. Mia looked over at Han and saw him and Gisele saying goodbye to Dom before taking off out of the garage together in his Maverick. Brian spotted the pair over her shoulder and shared a look with Mia.

"You okay?" he asked concernedly as he pulled away.

Nodding, Eve smile tearfully and assured him, "I will be. You know me."

"Yeah, that's why I'm worried," he retorted seriously.

"I'll be fine, Brian. Promise." Eve waved off his concern with a shrug, putting on a brave face as Dom walked over and hugged her goodbye. "You guys stay safe. You ever need anything, I'll be in Tokyo."

Stunned, Brian questioned, "You're still going back there?" The question of Han and Gisele being in the same city and how she would deal with that went unsaid.

"Yeah. For now, at least," she replied, hands in her back pockets. Seeing the looks she was being given, Eve smiled wanly and told them, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to find a new place and everything. You guys gonna head out soon?"

"Just got a pit stop," Dom answered and gestured to the bag at his feet. Eve spotted the note inside and, despite not knowing much of the local language, she easily recognized the names Rosa, Nico and Tio Dom – Uncle Dom. Vince's wife and son, she realized; Dom was giving the dead man's family a piece of his cut. Eve nodded reverently before hugging Mia, affectionately rubbing her flat stomach.

"You take care of them." As Eve pulled away, she added, "I know it's gonna be hard, but keep him out of trouble for me, okay?" The family of four shared a laugh as Brian playfully pushed her. Dom slapped hands with her, his face said how sorry he was about Han as well but he doesn't say anything. He didn't need to. The two just nodded at one another, an understanding passing between them. Smiling sadly, Eve waved goodbye as she shouldered her pack with her share. As she walked over to Gisele's abandoned Ducati Streetfighter, her sad smile easily grew into a devious smirk.

"Um, Eve...?" Brian called out to her as she put on the helmet.

"What? Bitch took from me, only fair I take from her." Eve shrugged as she started up the bike. "Besides, she left it. It's fair game." Smirking, she flipped down the visor on the helmet and peeled out onto the main road.

* * *

Thanks to her hard work on her own new ID, Evelyn Spencer was able to get back to Tokyo without any trouble whatsoever. She didn't even have an anxiety attack going through security. As a matter of fact, she flew first class for the first time in her life and it was pure bliss. Not only did she get her own seat that converted into a bed, but she got gourmet meals and champagne the entire time. The moment she landed, she hopped on the Ducati that shipped the day before and headed to the garage. She was greeted with excited hugs from Reiko, Earl and Twinkie but also confusion neither Han nor Gisele were there. Apparently, Han had told their teenage employee's that he was taking an extended vacation in Berlin, followed by Madrid, followed by wherever else he wanted to go. Eve was in charge, he told them. Feeling particularly bitchy, Eve told the kids that their first order of business was to sell the Ducati for scrap. They initially protested – the bike was too beautiful for that, they insisted! – but, once she said that the cash would go towards Twinkie's car fund, they were all for it.

Over the course of the next week, Eve packed up her things in the apartment she shared with Han above the garage and started the process of moving out. Considering her desperate need for amenities, and given her recent cash flow, she found the perfect place in Minato. Her home was now on the eighth floor of Mita Tsunamachi Park Mansion. Why she decided to buy the two bedroom was beyond her but extra space was always a smart investment. Sure it cost her almost nine hundred grand upfront to buy the place, almost eleven thousand in US currency. And sure, it cost her forty-five thousand yen a month, around five hundred sixty dollars American, for rent, and twenty-eight thousand yen a month for parking in the private garage, that was almost three hundred fifty in US currency, but it was well worth it. Money well spent, considering all the amenities, door security to ensure her privacy and, the best part, it was in entirely different district from Han. Moving out of the Shibuya district was just one more step in separating herself from her cheating man-whore ex-boyfriend. The next would be to leave the garage entirely but, until he returned, she couldn't foresee that happening. She would just bid her time.

To pass the time, she frequently went to the races. She never bothered to race anymore, except for good fun when there was nothing on the line. Eve didn't need to race, not with being a millionaire. Although, technically, with the currency exchange, she was a billionaire since a hundred grand American was almost ten million in Japan. When she wasn't at the races, Eve split her time in the garage with the teens and at the Toyota Mega Web showroom. She often crossed the Rainbow Bridge into Odaiba to go to the showroom and, using her cash, she'd get to test drive the latest models and get the best of the latest tech and accessories. So she'd gotten a little demanding, letting her cash do her talking for her but isn't that what the rich did? Let their money do everything for them?

It took her almost a year to realize that her only companions were all hers through Han. All of them, even her teenage employee's, were loyal to him just a slight more than her. Eve stuck it out, however, as she had no other friends in the city. Even so, she realized all too soon that her life in Tokyo was nothing without Han. Despite not being DK, he was the undisputed King of the Streets and she was his Queen, his abandoned Queen and everyone knew it. No one spoke about it around her, but the whispers had gotten back to her about how everyone – especially all of the racer chasing skanks – made fun of her behind her back. "The gaijin who thought she was better than everyone was just like them", the jealous bitches would say. Some of the cockier men would flirt and even go so far as to grope her, at the cost of some fractured bones. The whole point of going to Tokyo was to be with Han and, if he wasn't around, where did that leave her? It took her another month to realize that she couldn't stay in Tokyo, not with so many reminders of Han and his betrayal. Their house was no longer felt like home.

Unsure when she would return, Eve bought her apartment – something unprecedented but she managed to get the contract signed and filed away after paying an extra hundred grand on top of the million that would, typically, be two years rent. Instead, it was just hers forever, no rent ever again. It had been a pain, both legally and mentally, to part with the cash but she didn't want to part with her apartment forever. She'd come back eventually, something she promised to the teens, but she couldn't stand to be around at the present time. Her employee's had been upset at the news and wondered about their futures but Eve assured them that they had enough cash to keep the garage running until either she or Han returned. Reiko, of course, was left in charge of all the day-to-day management and paperwork of the garage. But all of them knew that, if there was ever a problem, Eve's number was still the same. After a tearful goodbye from Reiko and some very manly hugs from Earl and Twinkie, the latter coping a feel of her ass that garnered him a smack, she hopped into her Mustang and took off for the airport. After buying a ticket, getting transport for her car taken care of, and getting through security, Eve called the one person in the one place she knew she could go to without fail.

"_Tuyet! Been too long, my friend!_" Wuji greeted enthusiastically. From the noise she heard in the background, and the way he was shouting, he was at the races. Just the glimpse of the sound was enough to make her grin.

"I know, I know. I've been a bad girl," she teased and laughed when Wuji cracked up.

"_I know that tone!_" he crowed and Eve could hear the noise start to fade away. A moment later, there was a loud slam and the noise was completely gone. "_Okay, I'm sitting down. How can I be of service today?_"

"Is my room still available?" she asked point blank. Wuji stammered for a moment before assuring her it was. "Good, I'll be there soon."

"_How soon?_" he wondered and she told him she was waiting for her plane to board. "_Soon then,_" he joked before curiously asking why.

"I'll explain when I get there. Too much shit to sort through over the phone," she answered and wished him a good night.

True to her word, Eve arrived at the garage where Wuji waited for outside. The moment she stepped out of her car, he could see how beaten down she was and opened his arms. Eve immediately ran into them and held him tight, taking in the smell of him, and relaxing for the first time since before Rio. She was back to a place where she belonged, to a place where she knew she was not only loved and cared for, but respected. It may not have been home, her family – Brian, Mia, Dom, even Rico, Santo, Tej and Rome, the teens and even Han – may not have been with her, but she was with the closest she would ever get.

Wuji kept her close to his side as they walked into the garage. He kept the conversation on business: who the new racers to beat were, what happened to the old top dogs, what the new tricks of the Mat Rempit were, how he'd teach her how to do them, and how the cops still couldn't touch them. He kept everything light and easy, he was over the top in his explanations and made her laugh so hard that she cried tears of joy for the first time in a long time. It was nice, being back with people who cared. Not to say that the others didn't care, just that getting together as a group was impossible with Hobbs still hunting them.

But Malaysia would do. If only for the moment.

P.S.: Seven pages total.

_**A/N: **_Vince got a share of the cut in the film, which is why everyone got ten – Rico and Tego both lost their ten million in Monaco, idiots lol – so the cut changed from the original eleven to ten. To compensate for this, so everyone still got ten million, I just had Dom give up some of his share to give to Rosa and Nico. Could I have changed the original amount they'd stolen? Yes, but I think Dom is the kind of man who wouldn't mind giving up a piece of his cut for his family.

ALSO! Not only does the next chapter kick-off_ Fast Six_, but there are a couple of cameos! Six, to be exact. See if you can guess who they all are!


	22. Chapter 22

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

**Chapter 22**

"You ever gonna tell me what _really_ happened?" Wuji asked, eye fixed on his blonde friend.

Eve had been back in Malaysia for a year and, despite the massive raise in Wuji's fortunes since her return, he refused to back down from the very question he was asking at the moment. Every time he brought it up, she'd give him the same answer: "Tokyo was boring." He would leave it at that until the next time he'd ask. Sometimes it'd be the next night, or a week from then, two weeks, even a month or so. Finally, a year had passed and he was still asking the same damn question. Her answer would change on occasion, ranging from how she didn't like scene or missed doing acrobats on her bike or even that food wasn't as good. Yet he continued to ask. Honestly, why was he making such a big deal out of it? She sure as hell wasn't. Why couldn't he just let it go? Why couldn't he just accept it?

"I _told_ you what happened. I got bored, decided to come back." Eve went back to tweaking the engine on her Triumph TT600. Thank goodness she'd left it in Malaysia since,when Brian called for help with Braga, she'd had her 2004 Suzuki Bandit 1200S shipped over and it was subsequently destroyed during Dom's prison break. Luckily, when she'd told Wuji to do whatever he wanted with the Triumph – since she hadn't planned on returning – he'd kept it in storage. Insurance policy, he told her when he gifted it to her her first night back in the garage. Before, with some work, her Triumph could go zero to a hundred in sixty seconds; currently, she was working to increase that. "What, you gonna tell me you didn't miss me?" she joked with a small laugh. After all, she was always his biggest money maker at the races. People always doubted a foreigner and that was always their downfall.

"Did you know that you tug on your earlobe whenever you tell a lie?" he questioned, pointing out her subconscious fault. Only the people who knew her and knew her really well would be able to detect such a thing. It was why he never played poker with her, he explained, as she couldn't bluff for shit."You can't bullshit a bullshitter, Tuyet, so don't even try," he scolded.

Sighing, Eve set down the wrench and sat up from under the engine. Wiping her oily, greasy hands, she took a deep breath and stared at the floor as she admitted, "Someone I cared about, someone I _loved_...well, let's just say that he didn't love me enough." Wuji uncrossed his arms as he stared down at his friend, his stern features relaxing into understanding. That time, that answer, for the first time, it wasn't a lie. "_That's_ why I came back."

"You mean you ran away from your problem," he pointed out.

"I didn't run!" she snapped, offended and angry. Tossing the rag aside, she rose to her feet and marched over to him as she railed, "_He_ left _me_, _that's_ why I came back! End of story!" The two friend stared one another down, one the picture of serenity and the other panting. "And I never want to talk about this again, okay?"

"Okay. Fine," he seemingly conceded, hands in the air as he backed down. Eve nodded and turned around, walking back to her bike. "But running away?" She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. Did the man not know when to quit? "It solves nothing, my friend. Running isn't freedom, it's just a bigger prison." Jesus Christ, it was like talking to Dom, she thought with a sigh. "You will _always_ be looking over your shoulder and second guessing yourself, wondering about every "what if" and "coulda, woulda, shoulda". Your problem runs your life then. It _consumes _every inch of you. You need to learn to forgive and forget."

"How the hell do you expect me to forget?" she snapped, whipping around to glare at him. "It's not like this was some six month high school fling, Wuji! He was three God damn _years_ of my life! I gave up my home, my career, my entire _world_ for him and he just _left_ me! Like I was _nothing_ but fumes!" she shouted tearfully, the pain of Han's betrayal still very much raw. Panting, she furiously wiped her eyes and face clear of the offensive tears. "So, you tell me, Wuji, how do I forgive and forget that?" she questioned with a sneer.

The man stood tall and calm, answering, "You think I haven't heard you, night after night, off and on, crying in your room since you got back?" She hadn't known that. "Since I met you, I never heard you cry. Not once!" Shaking her head and wanting to ignore the conversation, Eve walked away, grabbing her leather jacket and keys. "Seems to me like he forgot you pretty easily. You were _disposable_ to him." Eve winced at the harsh words and quickly started up her Triumph, revving the engine to try and drown out the sound of Wuji's voice but he moved to stand in front of her and block the bike's path. "Please," he pleaded, hands clasped together as if praying, "do yourself a favor, Tuyet, and do the same before you crash and burn." Climbing onto the bike, she looked back at him and smile wanly at his concern.

"You worry too much," she replied stoically. "Now get out of my way before I run you down." Not wanting to risk the wrath of the brokenhearted woman, Wuji easily stepped out of the way and watched with a shake of his head as she tore out onto the streets.

* * *

Sitting at the bar, Eve downed her third shot with a wince. She waved the bartender over and set enough cash on the bar for him to leave the bottle with her. In the heat of the bar, she'd stripped off her jacket and let the crappy A/C cool her through her flimsy tank top. Reaching behind her, she rubbed a bit of sweat off her back that had gathered off her tattoo. Her first and, for the moment, only tattoo. All of her dreams had died when Han left her so, to commemorate that, she got herself the tattoo. Between her shoulder blade, her favor quote from her favorite Poe poem: "All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream". Maybe it didn't make sense to other people – as she got a lot of questions about it – but it did to her and that was all that mattered. Most of the time, she got jokes about that movie _Inception_. She'd never seen it, as she'd been in Rio when it apparently hit theaters but it was easier to just say that, that was what inspired her tattoo instead of going into the long explanation of how her ex broke her heart and it symbolized the breaking of her heart, hopes, dreams and how nothing was really real, just a lie. Besides, as an added bonus, it was thirteen words and thirteen was her lucky number.

When he left her, she'd felt like she couldn't breathe. A year hadn't changed that. Every time he drifted into her thoughts, her whole body ached. She even called him once, like an idiot, back in April to wish him a happy birthday, his thirty-ninth. He hadn't answered so she sent him a text – again, she was a colossal idiot. She should have known better. He didn't answer and, honestly, she didn't know if that was worse than him answering because what would he have said? "Thanks"? "Go away"? "Leave me alone"? Or would Gisele respond instead? The thought alone caused her to slam back another shot. The hurt was just so much worse after that. Her heart was bleeding and the worst part? He still owed her a reason because she just couldn't figure out why. Why was he in that bitch Gisele's bed while she was left alone to cry? He didn't have to hear her cry and she guessed he didn't even care. Grabbing the bottle, Eve poured herself another shot and threw it back as someone sidled up a few stools away from her and ordered a series of drinks. The voice sounded familiar and she looked at them out of the corner of her eye. The sight made her eyes go wide and her heart rate to pick up.

"Letty?" she muttered. The lookalike, because it seriously couldn't be the deceased racer, walked away from the bar with her order of drinks. Curious, as if drawn by some spell, Eve grabbed her bottle and glass in one hand, her jacket in the other, and followed. "Letty?" she called but the brunette didn't respond. Most people probably would have left it at that but Eve just couldn't. "Letty?" The other woman turned to look at her as she stopped at a table. Confusion was written all over Letty's face while shock registered on Eve's. "Holy shit..." she mumbled.

"You know our friend here?" Eve looked over the table as the British voice snapped her out of her haze. Letty gave her a once over before sitting down with the group of people.

Licking her lips, Eve reluctantly answered, "In a manner of speaking." Turning back to the woman in question, she told her, "I thought you were dead. I mean, I went to your funeral." Rethinking that, she added, "Sort of." Did observing at a distance with the FBI count as attendance?

"Look, I don't know who you saw in that box," Letty sneered, "but it wasn't me. And I don't know you."

"Geez, I know we were never close, but seriously?" Letty didn't seem amused in the least, choosing to sip at her drink instead. It wasn't Corona either, which was weird in and of itself.

"Amnesia," the Brit told her factually. "A blank slate. A chance to start over. Perfection, isn't it?" he asked, gently running his hand over Letty's back as she ducked her head uncomfortably. Looking at Eve, he asked, "And you are, darling?"

"Evelyn," she answered shortly, eying the hand still on Letty in confusion.

"Evie." Her lips twitched, both annoyed and amused as she rolled her eyes at him. "Lovely to meet you. I'm Owen. Perhaps you can assist my friends and I." At this, he motioned to the empty seat at the table and she took it with a nod, intrigued. "We are looking for someone, an experienced driver. A racer. I was told he frequented this pub."

Eve chuckled as she nodded, telling him, "Well, you're definitely in the right place. Got a name?"

"Tuyet," he answered and she ducked her head, laughing under her breath. Seriously, what were the odds? "Something funny?" he asked, grim-faced and serious. Eve just bowed her head with a saccharine grin.

Slightly mocking, she simply replied, "Lovely to meet you."

"_You_ are the famous stunt racer we've heard so much about?" He was skeptical and she could understand that; even after all her time racing in Malaysia, she never got tired of the shock that overcame new racers on the scene when she beat them. "Your reputation precedes you."

"I am she. Emphasis on "she"." Brow furrowed, she inquired, "Someone told you I was a man?"

"I assumed. I see now that, that was foolish of me." He smiled at her, oozing charm and, she had to admit, she liked it.

"Very foolish," she agreed teasingly. "Tuyet is a nickname, it means snow. My friends thought it was amusing." Amusing, albeit a little racist, because of Snow White and some of the people gathered around the table thought just the same, chuckling at her expense. Owen, however, did not; he just smirked at her. Pouring herself a shot, she held out the bottle to him as an offering but he declined. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I'd like to offer you a job."

Curiously, she asked, "What kind of job?"

"The kind that will change your life." Well, he was bold, she'd give him that.

"I've already done a couple of those kind of jobs," she replied with a smirk. "How is yours any different?"

"Mine's worth a billion dollar," he answered easily. Eve took her shot and let out a slow breath, impressed but ultimately shook her head.

"Money, I have. _Lots_ of it. It means nothing to me. If that's all you have to offer, then I'm afraid you're wasting your time." Rising to her feet, Eve nodded goodbye and moved to leave. Her eyes lingered on Letty, still stunned that the other woman didn't recognize her. Actually, to be more accurate, the other woman was flat out ignoring her. Eve thought there would be a glimmer of recognition would've occurred but there was nothing. When Eve stepped outside, she pulled on her jacket and passed her bottle of liquor to a couple of scantily dressed girls, obviously on their way to a club. Climbing onto her bike, Eve prepared to head back to the garage and apologize to Wuji.

"It's interesting." Looking over her shoulder, Eve saw Owen casually strolling up to her.

"What is?" she wondered.

"Everything I heard about you," he answered. "A racer who came out of nowhere, climbed to the top, then left. You left for, what, two years? And then, as if by magic, you came back," he summarized, coming to a stop before her. "It's interesting. And a curiosity."

Nonchalant, she responded, "It's not complicated. I got bored."

"No, I don't think so," he disagreed, shaking his head. "No one would build the kind of reputation you have just to abandon it. Not without proper motivation. Hence my curiosity." Pursing her lips, Eve looked down and fiddled with her keys. For the hundredth time that night, her thoughts drifted to Han but not just him. He may have been one of a few reasons why she left, but he had been the main reason. As much as she wanted to lie about that, she couldn't. "Ah, yes, a broken heart." She looked up sharply, staring at him as he smirked at her. "Your eyes give you away. That is a look I've seen many times before. The pain," he explained. "He broke you, and you came running back to a city that loved you unconditionally."

Aggravated, she scowled and asked, "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to come with me," he answered with an easy shrug. "I want to have some fun with the daredevil I heard _so_ much about." Taking a step closer, Owen gently traced the back of his fingers along her jawline. Eve was ashamed that she closed her eyes and enjoyed the lingering touch; it had been so long since she felt such a gentle caress. "I want to see that _spark_, not this apathetic shell I see before me." He pulled away from her and Eve opened her eyes.

"What's the target?"

Smiling, he corrected, "Targets."

* * *

"Pretty sure I have the right to a phone call!" Eve called out obnoxiously, tapping on the mirror of the interrogation room.

How she had ended up on the other side of that mirror was disturbing. She'd been running from the feds for almost four years and she'd never been caught, not once. But, then again, she'd been laying low – for the most part – since her initial break from the so-called right side of the law back in the Dominican. Rio aside, she'd stayed below the radar and didn't do anything to draw attention to herself. Until Owen Shaw came into her life with all the grace and charm of a rattlesnake. She'd been running with the man and his team for two months and it had been a lot of fun. Breaking and entering, destruction of public and private property, theft, there were always shoot outs and definitely always causalities and, if she was honest, Eve liked that part a lot. After all the shit she'd been through, after the pain Han had caused her, it felt nice to inflict a little pain on someone else. Maybe that was a tad but psychotic of her but she couldn't bring herself to care. Not anymore, about anything or anyone. When she had gone back to the garage the night she'd met Owen and told Wuji she was leaving again, they'd gotten into another fight. He called her cold, and perhaps he was right.

As for how she landed herself in an interrogation room, she wasn't too sure to be honest. One minute, she was cruising down the streets, headed back to the main base, and the next she was sideswiped. She'd been about to go off on the asshole that hit her bike when a black bag was tossed over her head. Hands were on her, pulling and dragging her, cuffing her wrists, and then she felt her body picked up and tossed into what she could only guess was a van. Bastards didn't even have the decency to put her in a seat or anything, they just drove and let her roll around in the back. She yelled and kicked at the walls but whoever had her didn't stop. They didn't even yell at her to shut up. She'd just contorted her body to move her cuffed hands from behind her to in front when the van stopped and she was manhandled once again. Eve tried everything: insults, reasoning, kicking their knees, stomping their feet, flirting. Nothing worked. The men, as the feel of their hand suggested, didn't make a sound. No matter what language she spoke – English, Japanese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, German, Spanish, French, Polish, Italian, Russian – not a sound came from either one. She'd been shoved into a room, the bag removed from her head, door locked and she'd been left alone.

In the back of her mind, Eve humorously wondered if this would've happened if she'd kept her Mustang – which had been shipped back to the care of her teens in Tokyo – with her instead of her Triumph. Hell no! At least with her car, she wouldn't have been knocked off like she had been on her bike. That had been her downfall, what gave her enemy, whoever they were, the time to grab her. With her car, she could have escaped on the back roads and she wouldn't be in her current situation, banging on the mirrored window and demanding a phone call.

"Hey! I'm talking to you, assholes!" she shouted, pounding on the mirror even harder. Who cared if the handcuffs were scratching it? "I know there's someone in there and I know you can hear me! You can't hold me! I didn't do shit!"

"You really wanna go down that road, Trudeau?" Eve froze at the familiar voice and slowly turned around. Penning, a man she hadn't seen him since the last time she'd been in the States, back when all the shit with Braga had gone down. Behind him was Bilkins and a woman she didn't recognize carrying a folder.

"FBI taking lessons from terrorists?" she asked, referring to how she was brought in.

"Sit your ass down, Trudeau," Penning ordered. When she refused, opting to stare him down instead, he shouted at her. "Sit down! Now!"

"I'm sorry, am I supposed to be afraid?" she sassed as she shuffled to the chair. Slumping unceremoniously into it, she muttered under her breath about how he didn't need to get his panties in a bunch.

"You've been busy," Penning pointed out.

Eve shrugged and casually lied, "I don't know what you mean." The woman than tossed the folder onto the table and opened it, spreading out the series of pictures. All of them were of her, Letty, Owen, their team, the scenes of their crimes after they made their escape. "You need to work on your photography, sweetie. These are _seriously_ grainy. I can't tell, is that an arm or a leg?" Ever grinned at the woman, who scowled back.

"Knock off the sarcasm, Trudeau," Penning snapped. "This is Monica Fuentes, with Customs. They'd been tracking you and your team until the list of what you'd been stealing had been compiled. Now your case has been transferred to the DSS." Eve paled a bit at the mention of that branch and Penning smirked at her. "That's right. Your old pal Hobbs."

"So why isn't he in here "interrogating" me?" she questioned tersely. Despite her tone, Eve was spectacularly happy that Hobbs was the one interrogating her. If he was, she'd be tossed around the room and probably spend the rest of her life breathing through a tube and a machine.

"Because he's Hobbs. You know how he is," Bilkins told her. With a sympathetic smile, he took the chair across from her and sat down. "You look good, Trudeau. Most relaxed I've ever seen you."

"I started doing yoga," she replied sarcastically.

"Where's Shaw, Trudeau?" Bilkins asked calmly.

"Hogwarts," she answered blankly.

"What about your team, huh? Who are they?"

"Dick, Jane and Spot."

"Where's your home base of operations?"

"Somewhere over the rainbow." Penning sighed and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Fuentes left a moment later, albeit much more calmly. They were undoubtedly watching her and Bilkins stare at one another from behind the mirror. "You're not getting anything out of me. And, since there's no extradition in Morocco, you sure as hell can't arrest me, which means you can't keep me here, so you might as well put me back on the streets."

"Shaw is dangerous, Trudeau. We don't know what he's planning but, based on what's been taken, it's not good," he explained. "Now Customs wasn't too happy to lose this case and Penning doesn't even want you involved but, seeing as you're already in, well..."

Realizing what he meant, she questioned, "You want me to be your narc?"

"I want you to do whatever you can to keep us at the Bureau informed, yes," he replied with a shrug. Eve looked at him and asked what would happen if she said no. "Well, here's a list of the laws you've broken," he told her, laying her file on the table for her to flip through. "Obstructing, aiding and abetting, resisting, assault – you know the rap sheet." Eve slid the file back to him and leaned back in the chair, clenching her cuffed hands under the table. "Now, we can make this all go away in the interest of justice, if you're willing to play ball."

"You'll clean my record?" she verified.

"Full pardon and amnesty," he confirmed with a nod. Eve took a deep breath and sighed. If the deal he was offering was legit, if he didn't go back on his word, like Penning had before, she would be able to go back to the States without fear of landing in jail. She'd really be free, no more running – even if she was running in countries with no extradition. "We got a deal?"

"I report to you and only you?" Bilkins nodded and she nodded back. "You got a deal then. Now get these cuffs off me." Chuckling, he did just that and the two walked out of the room together. "Where's my bike?"

"It's fine. Sitting out front," he assured her.

"It better be pristine considering you guys smashed into me. You know how long it took me to get it just perfect?" she complained.

"Quit your bitching and get back to Shaw," he ordered with a small smile. "I'm gonna need you to get in contact by the end of the week. The sooner the better though." Eve just shrugged and hummed at him. "Trudeau," he stressed, "this isn't a joint mission with DDS. Hobbs doesn't know you'll be working with us. Not that he'd be willing to anyway." She wanted to ask why the hell that was but she already had a headache. And she still had to check her bike as there was no doubt they put a tracker on it.

"You handle your business, I'll handle mine." Eve exited the building and jogged over to her bike.

Climbing on, she sped off down the road and waited until she got to a gas station to check her bike. Sure enough, under the covering of her back tire was a tracker. Flipping the switch, she took it off and casually walked toward the station. As she did, she bumped into a guy pumping his gas a dropped her keys. While they apologized to one another and he bent down to get her keys for her, she slapped the tracker to the inside of the covering on his gas cover and flipped the switch. When she got back to the base, no one even looked up. No one asked where she'd been or so much as spared her a glance. No one but Owen.

"What kept you?" he asked seriously, suspiciously.

"Some dickwad crashed into my bike," she explained with a sneer. "I had to take it to a garage and get it checked out." Owen stared at her. Rolling her eyes, she told him, "Go ahead and look for yourself if you don't trust me." Instead, he nodded and walked away, calling everyone together to discuss their next target. From her back pocket, Eve felt her cell phone vibrate. Pulling it out, she saw the unknown number and gave it the bitch button. A moment later, she turned it off and set it aside. If she was going to report to Bilkins, it'd be on _her_ terms, not his and not Pennings.

_**A/N:**_ Were you guys able to figure out who the cameos were? AND WERE YOU SURPRISED BY ANY OF THEM?!

P.S..: Eight pages total.


	23. Chapter 23: Fast Six

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

I wasn't going to post the next chapter until tomorrow but, given what happened last night, I felt that I should.

For those of you who don't know, Paul Walker, 40, and Roger Rodas, 38, left Walker's REACH OUT Worldwide charity event for the Typhoon Haiyan victims in Rodas' red 2005 Porsche Carrera GT last night, November 30th. Rodas was driving, lost control, and reportedly crashed into both a light pole and tree in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California. The car then burst into flames; the LA County Sheriff's Office stated that speed was a factor in the crash — although the doughnut patterns found on the road haven't been confirmed to be from Rodas' car yet. The LA County Sheriff's Department declared the two dead at the scene and Walker's publicist, Ame van Iden, later confirmed it.

The two men met at the race track, where Walker saw Rodas driving the Porsche GT3 he formerly owned, and became fast friends. They even raced side-by-side in a Pro-Am 25-hour endurance race in Thunder Hill, California. I've seen reports where the two are described as being more like brothers than just friends and business partners, which I think only makes this sad situation even worse.

On tumblr, I've seen people posting this text/picture "RIP for the driver who died with Paul Walker but no one cares about because he wasn't famous". Whether or not that's meant as a joke, I find it shameful and absolutely disrespectful. I understand the cause of it; Walker is a famous actor, his passing is getting tons of media attention, but to outright say that no one cares about the driver is just extremely rude and ignorant. There are plenty of people who care about Rodas: his wife and children for one, his family, his friends, his coworkers and fellow racers — _they_ miss him. Besides, Rodas was "famous" in his own right. He was a former race car driver, scoring two wins in the Pirelli Drivers Cup in 2012 before moving up to compete in the GTS class of the Pirelli World Challenge. I actually had the privilege of seeing him in action once and, while he wasn't the best I ever saw, he _was_ damn good. Not only this, but he was the CEO and co-owner/founder of Always Evolving, a performance shop for high-end cars, with Walker. What began as a way to simply store their own cars and earn an income by doing work for other drivers eventually led to a full-scale race team with Rodas as the lead driver. Like Walker, Rodas was big on charities, such as Walker's REACH OUT Worldwide and the Asomugha Foundation. He also owned Cielo Recycling, a recycling plant in Central America. Their friendship turned into a professional one as well as Rodas, who was also a Merrill Lynch employee, became Walker's financial adviser.

We all know Walker was an actor, but he was also an avid surfer, held a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and had a passion for marine biology. In 2006, he joined the Board of Directors of the Billfish Foundation and fulfilled a lifelong dream with _Expedition Great White_. The 2010 National Geographic Channel series followed Walker and a crew over eleven days, catching and tagging great white sharks off the coast of Mexico. This expedition allowed for the study of the migratory patterns, especially the mating and birthing, for great whites, over a 5-year period of time. Walker was also an avid charity worker, founding his own humanitarian aid team, REACH OUT Worldwide. He traveled to both Chile and Haiti in 2010 to help earthquake victims. It might also be unknown to many, but Walker was an avid car enthusiast and driver outside of the _Fast & Furious_ franchise. He actually participated in the Redline Time Attack racing series and was apart of the AE Performance Team. He even owned the Nissan Skyline that was his featured car in _2 Fast 2 Furious_, which he customized himself.

Walker is survived by his daughter, and Rodas is survived by his wife and two children.

Paul Walker and Roger Rodas - two kind, giving, charismatic and charitable men, humanitarians, who lived their lives on their terms, doing what they loved, and giving back every chance they had. RIP, boys. You will be missed.

**Chapter 23**

A year.

Eve had been with Owen and the crew for a year. The past eight months, they'd been chased by Hobbs over four continents and twelve countries. That was how long she'd been undercover, not that Bilkins knew that. She'd been keeping surveillance on her crew the entire time but Owen made it difficult to get in touch with Bilkins. The man was a Nazi, to be perfectly polite about it. He kept close tabs on the entire team and it was odd for Eve. Unlike Dom and Brian, Owen didn't think of his team as family and trust them implicitly. No, it was just the opposite. He didn't trust any of them, all of them were replaceable, and he made that abundantly clear. It was almost like she was a rookie agent with the Bureau again. In all that time, she'd only managed to contact Bilkins three, maybe four times with a tip on their next hit but it was always too late. Owen and the team were just too good. Penning probably thought she'd flipped on them. Maybe she had. After all, she was still having a lot of fun.

Hell, Owen had even introduced her to his family, what remained of it, at least. They'd made a put stop in London about five months ago and he'd given her the day off. But there was still work to be done so the team was hidden away, hard at work, while Owen took her around to some of his favorite spots around London. They explored Hyde Park, Piccadilly and Leicester Square until her feet hurt but there was still one more stop to make. After a short ride through the tubes, the pair made their way to the Eye, something that filled Eve with a giddy delight she'd never known. He discreetly passed a tip to the attendant and they stepped inside their carriage, where a chilled bottle of champagne, three flute glasses, and a man were waiting. Eve watched, befuddled, as Owen approached the man and hugged him. _Hugged _him. It was a manly hug, but still, it was a startling sight.

"Evie, I'd like you to meet my brother, Ian." If Eve had been befuddled before, she down right gobsmacked now.

"Hi," she greeted, tone uncertain as she warily shook his hand. "You never told me you had a brother," she mumbled to Owen.

"That's because I taught him how to keep a secret," Ian told her with a smirk. Owen nodded as his brother clapped his shoulder. It couldn't be described as a gesture of affection. If anything, it seemed more like a drill sergeant acknowledging a soldier doing something right. "So, you're the girl," he observed, looking her up and down.

"I'm the girl." Eve shrugged, not sure exactly what Ian was looking for but he was definitely sizing her up. She'd been around enough gangsters, mobsters, and just general punks to know when she was being tested and sized. "I didn't even know Owen had a family. I was starting to think he was just grown in a lab somewhere," she joked passively, attempting to smile but unable to.

"Family first, baby brother. Haven't I taught you anything?" Owen just chuckled under his brother, mirthless, and shook his head as he handed Eve a flute of champagne. "Do you have family, Eve?" She'd almost answered yes when she remembered that Owen had no idea about her past with Brian and the others. He knew she'd run with a few crews after he dismissal from the FBI, that she had close ties in Malaysia, but that was it. Due to her working with the Feds to take down Owen, she hadn't seen let alone spoken to anyone in her family. She wanted to, very much so, but she couldn't risk them. Remembering all of this, she shook her head.

"Not for a long time, no."

"Such a shame," he remarked. "You see, I believe, that every person has a code they live by. Owen's is...precision, as you may have guessed." Eve smirked and nodded, taking a sip of her champagne in amusement. "You'll find that mine is family."

"That's a good code," she complimented.

"It is. What better code to live by than to do anything for your family?" Eve looked at him, brow furrowed. Something about the way he'd said that, something in his tone, set her on edge. "What about you? What's your code, Eve?" he asked, drawing her name out. Testing it. Testing her. "Do you even have one?"

Squaring her shoulders, she looked him in the eyes and answered, "I guess I'm still searching for one." Lie. Her code was family as well. Mi familia, as Dom said, above all else.

"Well, let me know when you find it." Eve smiled wanly, eyes slightly narrowed, as he clinked his glass with her own.

After that, the trio didn't talk business, but they weren't overly personal with each other either. Eve understood; she was pretty tight-lipped about her past. Han knew Eve, sure, but Brian was really the only person who knew her inside and out. He was the only person she'd ever told about her family. Because he was family. Instead, they enjoyed the ride around the Eye, taking in the sights of London over drinks and some snacks. Owen was sure to keep an arm around her shoulders and Ian's eyes never once left her, even when he was talking to his brother. She thought it was odd, the way he stared at her. It wasn't sexual. Quite the opposite. If anything, his stares unnerved her. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so threatened by someone's eyes. Maybe it was Hobbs, maybe Braga or Fenix but there was something about Ian that just made her skin crawl. He was a family man, unlike his brother, but in the worst possible way. Dom and Ian would have gotten along, Eve surmised, if only Ian wasn't completely nihilistic and, most likely, insane.

* * *

Moscow had been their latest hit. They attacked a Russian military convoy and stole a satellite component. It had been a complete adrenaline rush as their cars came out of nowhere. The entire job had been done in ninety seconds, in and out. It had been a world class job, because that was how Owen trained them to be. Perfection, nothing less would due. Once they had what they needed, they were immediately headed out of the country and back to their home base in London. On the way there, Eve heard the new report that six people had been hospitalized and a dozen vehicles had been destroyed in their attacked. The best part had been how they managed to get a car to jammed high into the side of a ten story building. _That _had been the fun part. Of course, there had been a downside to the job. One of their team, Oakes, had been caught and, more than likely, was being held at Interpol for questioning. Had Owen been like Dom, a rescue mission would've been mounted immediately. But, as he kept reminding them, each and everyone one of them was replaceable. Especially after Hobbs got through with their partner.

"Hobbs is a two-bit government hack, but he's not a complete idiot," Eve warned him. "They're gonna wire him up and release him. He's gonna lead them straight to us."

"I'm counting on it," Owen replied calmly. Eve shook her head and let out breath, pulling her cigarette's out and lighting one up. "I have a plan," he assured her. "Just be ready."

"You're the boss," she replied. Eve shrugged and moved to walk away but his firm hand on her arm halted her. Owen pulled her back to him and pulled her to stand between his open legs. He casually took her cigarette and took a drag of it before placing it back on her lips. Smirking, she took a drag and turned around. As she walked away from him, Owen smacked her ass and she let out a tiny moan of approval. Eve winked at him from over her shoulder.

Yeah, maybe she had flipped. But just a little bit.

* * *

"It's weird, huh?" Brian asked, reclining in the wicket chair in his front yard. Dom was sitting next to him, both of them enjoying a beer while Mia was inside putting his son, Jack, down for a nap.

"What's weird?" Dom returned.

"We got, we got everything. Down to the beer and the BBQ," he laughed. "But it's just...I don't know, it just doesn't feel like home." He shook his head. "Maybe it's because, uh, you don't realize how much you appreciate something until somebody takes it away. I don't know." He shrugged and grinned. "The place has probably changed so much, you probably wouldn't even recognize it anymore."

"Yeah, everything's changed."

"So what's up with you? What's going on?" Dom passed him the manilla folder, telling is friend and brother to take it or leave it. ""Diplomatic Security Service,"" Brian read and realized it was from Hobbs. Pulling out the papers inside, he gave the pictures of Letty and Eve only a glance before setting his stony gaze on Dom. "You know, I used to do this kind of shit as a cop. This is _exactly _what cops do: he's messing with your head. With _our_ heads." He shoved the photos back into the folder and leaned back in the chair. "Nobody's heard from Eve in two years, not even me. She was scared to death of Hobbs, you really think she'd be dumb enough to get back on his radar?" Chucking the folder onto the table before him, he stared and his friend and reminded him, "Letty's dead, Dom."

"I need to know for sure," he insisted.

Brian nodded and let out a breath, stating, "Then I'm going with 'ya."

"You said you were gonna leave this life behind."

"We _both _said that we were leaving the life behind."

Mia walked up behind them and interjected, "He's right. We're family. You got a problem, we deal with it _together._" Wrapping her arms around Brian's neck, she kissed the crown of his head and he reached up to rub her arm affectionately. "And I'll feel safer knowing you're both out there, watching each others backs. You're stronger together, you always were. Now go get Letty and Eve. Bring 'em home."

That was exactly what they intended to do. Once Hobbs and his new partner, Riley Hicks, tracked down the team, everyone was gathered in London. Tej was more than happy with the new equipment, claiming it was better than the trash they used in Rio. Tego and Rico were the not present; last anyone heard, they hit up the casinos in Monte Carlo. Rome, like all of them, wondered what they were doing in London if Rio was meant to be their last job. Hobbs made his appearance then and Dom told him that he had the best team in the world standing in front of him, but he had to give them a reason to stay. Hobbs laid it all out for them: their target was Owen Shaw, former Major in the Special Air Service, a spec-op soldier, who ran the UK's mobility division in Cabo and Bozrah. Tej added his own opinion, telling everyone that the mobility unit was the truth; vehicular warfare, the best in the world. Hobbs informed him that Shaw and his team had been running jobs in Europe for years but it was the most recent jobs that graduated them to a whole new level. Three targets, highly specific: the program terminal from an ICBM missile and the poison code computer virus from an NSA black lab. Best guess, Shaw and his crew were building a Nighshade device, a tech bomb designed to block an entire military communication grid for twenty-four hours. Blind a soldier for a single second in battle, he dies. Blind a country for twenty-four hours, the loss of life would be unthinkable. It would be a weapon worth billions to the right buyer, which made Tej question why they didn't just steal it.

"I want you to help me catch Shaw," Hobbs told them, after shooting open the vending machine for Rome. "He's only got one piece left that he needs and I intend to stop him before he gets it. Now, I know you guys are a family so I'm offering you a chance, right now, to make that family whole again." With that, he produced the pictures of Letty and Eve. Tej and Rome may not have known Letty, although they'd heard plenty about her, they knew Eve and the sight of her with a terrorist was just bizarre.

"How long she been with this guy?" Tej asked curiously, picking up the picture of Eve.

"Going on a year," Riley answered. "From what we learned from our new "friend" at Interpol, she's his right hand. Everything he knows, she knows."

Han scoffed and shook his head in disbelief, stating, "You're trying to tell us that Eve is helping a _terrorist_ build a bomb that could easily destroy a countries military infrastructure? There's no way, man." Taking the picture from Tej, he held it up for Hobbs to stare at it. "This woman used to be Federal agent, for God's sake! There's no way she'd willingly be apart of something like this. Letty either." Han chucked the picture at Hobbs and turned to Dom, desperate. "We did some stuff, sure. We did a lot of stupid, dangerous shit and we had a lot of fun, yeah, but, Dom, you know as well as me that this?" He shook his head. "This isn't Letty. She wouldn't do this, no matter how much cash was involved. She's not a terrorist." Looking back at Hobbs, he added, "And neither is Eve."

"Believe it or not, they are," Hobbs informed him. "Your girl there isn't your girl anymore," he said, gesturing to the black and white photo of Eve. "She's his."

Han stared at him and questioned, "What the hell does that mean?" Hobbs quirked a brow at him, looking at him as if he was stupid, and Tej whistled lowly.

"Damn," he toned, looking at the two men closest to Eve. Brian ducked his head, tense, while Han stared at Hobbs in disbelief.

Brian raised his head and looked at the hulk of muscle, stating, "You wanna make this family whole again?" Bullshit. Hobbs didn't care about making their family whole. All he cared about was getting his man. They all knew that. "You get us to Letty and Eve, we'll get you Shaw. Full pardons all the way around."

"I can't promise you that," Hobbs stated but Brian told him he could.

"That's the deal," Dom added with a smirk. "Take it or leave it."

Sighing, Hobbs agreed, "You get me Shaw, I'll get your pardons."

"You heard him," Brian told the team with a smile. "But this is different. We're not dealing with cops, we're not dealing with drug dealers – this is a whole different level."

Rome leaned over to Brian and quietly asked, "We're still getting paid, right?"

* * *

Eve knew better than most how the Feds worked, but Shaw wasn't an idiot. There was no way that Oakes was just going to be released. No, he'd worked out a deal for himself in exchange for selling out the rest of the team. Did it work to their favor? Absolutely. Oake's arrest worked to their favor because it provided the perfect distraction. Because Shaw was the man that the cops really wanted, all the cops and even Hobbs would be pulled directly to the temporary hideout Oakes undoubtedly gave up. With all the cops and Hobbs distracted, Eve would go with the rest of the team – Vegh, Klaus, Denlinger, Adolfson, Jah, and Ivory – and break into Interpol to get the last piece of their bomb. It was brilliant and, as they drove down the empty streets and entered Interpol, they realized just how brilliant. It was a ghost town and completely theirs for the taking.

Did Eve like the idea of using Oakes as bait? No, but the simplest things could cause the biggest problems. The beauty of that was that all one had to do was swap out a bad part and everything would run smooth as silk again. Oakes was a bad part. The team made their way to their target, Eve checked her watch and saw that they had at least three minutes to get in and out. All the cops were pulled to Owen, yes, but that didn't mean they were out of the woods. No one on the team was a brilliant electrician or hacker so going around Interpol's security was impossible. When the alarm went off – and it would go off, it was just a matter of when – they would have to haul ass. Hopefully, they would have what they needed, Oakes would be dead, and Owen would have the flip car in perfect working order. That flip car, it was a thing of beauty! Low slung, skeletal frames, three seats, open-wheeled sports car that they'd modified together with a reinforced front end with a flip-up extension that could form a ramp. And they didn't just have one but two and, with them, they were unstoppable.

As the alarms sounded, Eve called out to the team, "We got less than sixty seconds! Let's move!"

"Got it, treacle!" Ivory called out and the team bolted for the exit.

"Owen, we got it," Eve called, finger pressing on her earpiece. "Where you at?"

"_A little busy, darling," _he replied. Over the line, despite all the noise, she could easily make out the sounds of sirens and gunfire. He was definitely being chased._"That was fun,"_ he laughed and Eve shook her head, smiling in amusement. Boys and their toys.

"_We've got vehicles approaching,"_ Adolfson announced over the line. He was their sniper, their eyes outside from the rooftop across the street.

"Cops?" she asked in disbelief. There was no way, Owen had pulled all the cops in the city to him so they could do the job.

"_Doesn't look like it. Four civilian vehicles,"_ he answered. _"But they're moving fast, headed your way."_

"Take 'em out," she ordered. Adolfson did just that, immediately firing on the cars as they pulled to a stop in front of Interpol. "Let's go guys, we got company! Denlinger, Klaus, I want you two front and center. Lay cover fire with Adolfson. Let's move!" Both men nodded and armed their guns, firing at the cars parked out front the moment they opened their doors. Eve pulled out her Beretta and started firing at one of the cars, the driver unseen but still inside, pinned down by their firing. Putting a hand to her ear, Eve called out, "Vegh, where are you?"

A moment later, the second flip car pulled out, "Right here! Let's go, boys!" Ivory immediately ran to the second seat of the flip and jumped inside, their package safe with him.

"Eve!" the frantic shout made Eve stop her cover fire and look at just who she was shooting at.

Stunned, she mumbled, "Han?" Her eyes ran to the other drivers, pinned down by her partners and she was surprised to see Brian, Rome and Tej. What the hell were they doing? Squaring her shoulder, Eve pursed her lips and raised her gun. She fired directly at Han until he had no choice but to run and duck for cover behind his completely destroyed car. "Jah, get your ass here now!" she shouted over the earpiece. A moment later, their Range Rover pulled up. Denlinger helped Eve in while Klaus and Adolfson covered them. Once all of them were inside and safe, they took off down the road behind Vegh and Ivory. "Adolfson, we got it from here. Get back to base."

"_Yes, ma'am."_

"You know those guys?" Klaus questioned.

"I thought I did," she answered, still stunned. "Owen, we got three cars trailing us."

"_You know what to do."_ The silent command made her cringe internally but she nodded and kept her face blank.

"Get the chip gun ready," she ordered and Denlinger nodded. The moment it was, he smashed out the back window and passed her the gun. Looking down the scope, Eve took aim and let out a slow breath. She fired once and the chip landed on the far left side of hood on Tej's car. The second fired, landed perfectly on the hood of Rome's. The last chip was for Brian; he tried to dodge it but it stuck to his front bumper regardless. "Got 'em!" she called out and pulled the gun back in.

"Chip one is ready," Denlinger told her, eyes fixed on the tablet screen. Eve nodded and she took her seat and he pressed on the screen. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Tej swerve out of control, crashing in a series of parked cars and flipped. Rome went next, driving onto the sidewalk, crashing up and through a cement stairwell and sailing through and destroying a department store. "The last chip is ready." Eve looked out the window and saw Brian swerve and tap a light pole, knocking the chip off before it could take him out. "No good! No good!"

Eve smirked and shook her head, muttering, "Not bad, Barstow."

"_Approaching rendezvous point,"_ Vegh called out. Climbing over Klaus, Eve moved to the front seat beside Jah. Looking ahead, she saw Owen converge with their group, two vehicles on his tail. One was a big ugly Navistar MXT and knew that had to be Hobbs, it definitely fit his style. The chase continued onto the populated tunnels, all of them weaving in and out of all four lanes of traffic.

"_Stay on track. I'm taking the contingency,"_ Owen told them, veering out onto the exit on the left. Looking over her shoulder, Eve spotted the Navistar and one of the '05 BMW E60 M5s go after him but the other one was still behind them. Brian, it had to be. If he stayed on their tail much longer, Owen wouldn't hesitate to kill him. Either he'd send him barreling into a wall or he'd blow him up with one of Friuz's favorite toys.

"Vegh, we could use some help," Eve pointed out.

"_No problem."_ In the side mirror, she saw the other women weave through traffic behind them. Seconds later, Eve watched as Brian's car flipped through the air and crashed landed upside down. Eve turned her eyes to the road ahead, face blank and stony, but her hand clenched at her side. Brian had survived tougher scraps than a flipped car. He was okay. He had to be. She needed him to be.

_**A/N:** _What Paul's death means for the last installment of the the _F&F _series and this series...I honestly have no idea.

I don't even know if seven is going to be the last one now, as I've heard about there being the possibility of an eighth, ninth and even tenth movie - plus, there's all these possibilities of spin-offs! I've looked around the web and found that filming for the seventh movie started back in September. It's actually listed as being post-production on wikipedia (which is a horrible source, I know). But there are other websites that say the movie is in the middle of filming, and now has to be reworked as Ian killing Brian as he did Han. That's just a rumor but, if Ian Shaw is the big bad in seven, then that's likely to happen.

I don't know what's going on, on this front but, the moment I do, I'll be sure to let you guys know.

Also, maybe it's just me but, when I write my characters, parts of me are always in them. I think that's the only way you can be a good writer: by having truths of yourself in your fiction. Eve is literally 85% me so the events of last night have hit me really hard. That probably sounds weird, maybe even selfish, but we all loved Paul and Brian and, because I've put so much of myself into the character and that relationship with Brian, I feel as though I've lost _another_ brother. It just hurts. A lot. What his passing means for Eve, I don't know. When I thought seven was the last, then I imagined it being the last for Eve as well. But Paul had talked about the future movies, so I figured Eve would be around a lot longer. Depending on how the seventh movie goes and the direction my muse takes me, it just might be the end for this series after all. Continuing to do the rest of the series - if there are, indeed, going to be up to ten films - just doesn't feel right without the Brian/Eve sibling dynamic and I can't do that without Paul.

P.S.: Eight pages total.


	24. Chapter 24

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

Hey, guys! So here's an update on _Fast Seven_. From what I've read, the movie was halfway through filming when Paul died. The cast and crew were actually on their Thanksgiving holiday break and were meant to start re-shooting on Monday, December 2nd. Literally two days after Paul died :( Anyway, last I read from various articles, the movie has been put to a halt but it's still hopeful for a 2014 release. But, right now, Universal's focus is on providing support for Paul's immediate family and the extended _Fast & Furious _family. They've gone on record saying that that they "feel it is [their] responsibility to shut down production...for a period of time so [they] can assess all options available to move forward". They are taking their time, not wanting to rush into anything, not making any rash decisions. They want to do what's best to honor Paul and I think we can all appreciate that.

Now, just to update on this fic, I haven't even started writing _T__okyo Drift _yet! lol I'm so sorry but, like I said, I wanna wait and see what seven brings. There could be flashbacks of Han that I can incorporate into it. Maybe even some stuff with Luke, Ian, or Brian. So, yeah, _Tokyo Drift_ and _Fast Seven _might be awhile but not too long. I'm estimating that I could have them both written in about 3-4 months after the seventh movie. That's just an estimate though! Hopefully, by that time, I'll have an idea of what to do with Eve and whether or not to end her journey after seven.

**Chapter 24**

Their hideout was perfect. Not only was it in the center of a blind spot of the CCTV security cameras around the city, but it had multiple vantage points and exits. Subways, highways, storm drains – it was perfect. The moment Eve, Denlinger, Klaus and Jah pulled into their hideout, she hopped out and ran inside. Vegh and Ivory weren't far behind them and Eve gingerly took the package with a smile. Her focus was on Owen, she walked over and passed him the package with smile. Owen opened it and let out a chuckle at the sight before him. They'd done it, they'd grabbed the database of every location that housed the final component that they needed. There were over two dozen across Europe but the list was only good for ninety-six hours, he reminded them, so they had to hurry. A four day window was all they had. Owen was so pleased with their job well done that he pulled her close and kissed her in front of the team, something he never did. Everyone was hard at work when Letty pulled in, tossing her keys to Ivory and telling him it would need some work.

"You good?" Owen asked her and she nodded, giving him a strange look. "Okay. Listen up! That was a very different breed from Hobbs' usual wannabe warriors. We need to learn who these people are and what they're made of. Vegh?"

"O'Connor, Parker, Pearce, Toretto," she listed, tossing the files she'd gathered onto the work table, "and the rest of the team." Eve lit up a cigarette, not needing to look over the files. She knew all of them personally, although she did find it odd that Gisele, Tego and Rico's files weren't in the pile.

"These guys are common criminals," Ivory stated, unimpressed as he flipped through the rap sheets.

"Tonight, these common criminals were seconds away from taking us down," Owen corrected. "Show them the respect they deserve or it weakens us." Passing a photo to Owen, Jah told him he might want to see it. Owen looked at it before setting his gaze on Letty and tossed the photo onto the table. "Ring any bells?" Curious, Letty walked over and picked it up.

"Yeah," she replied in a daze. "That's the guy I shot." Eve stared at her, confused. When in the hell had she shot Dom? Was he okay? Was he still alive?

"You're not happy?" Owen questioned.

"I _don't_ remember him," she insisted.

"That's bullshit!" Klaus snapped across the table. "We got a problem, guys. We got a picture of _her_ with the guy who almost took _you_ out," he reminded Owen.

"Klaus, aren't you team muscle?" Letty snapped at him. "Don't make me go over there and make you team pussy!" Eve ducked her head and smirked, shaking her head. Klaus really should have known better than to piss off Letty.

"She doesn't remember him," Owen assured the group and the matter was dropped. "Names and records aren't enough. I want _personal_ information. Get into their lives, into their minds. Find their weaknesses and we will exploit them." Eve kept her face blank; it was easy after years of training. However, under the facade, shots of fear and panic raced through her. Personal, that never meant anything good. "Eve, with me." Before following after him, Eve told Jah and Vegh to get to work on the database. They only had a window of four days, so they needed to get moving. Once outside, Owen pulled Eve close and slammed her against the brick wall. Stunned, she stared up at him as he boxed her in. "Would you care to explain?" he asked pointedly, pulling a folded slip of paper out of his pocket. She took in and opened it up, slumping against the wall at the sight of her with Brian. The photo was old, almost ten years old, back to when the whole mess had started and they'd been undercover as the Spilner siblings.

Eve shrugged and answered, "I had a life before I met you. You know that." Owen stared at her and she chuckled in disbelief. "Come on, seriously? We worked a couple of jobs together, yeah, but I haven't spoken to him in two years."

"And the rest of the team?" he questioned.

"It's not an issue."

Owen leaned in close and asked, "And Han?" Eve paused, unsure how he even knew she had a connection to him. Then she remembered she'd said is name over the headset while they'd been at Interpol.

"It's _not _an issue," she insisted, scowling.

"You're certain?"

"Yeah, I'm certain," she snapped, annoyed at his tone.

Owen conceded with a nod and said, "Okay. Let's get some rest. We have a busy day tomorrow." Wrapping an arm around her waist, Owen pulled her back into their hideout and they went to their room. The rest of the team were hard at work but Owen and Eve were spending their night in. As she undid her belt and stripped out of her pants, he walked up behind her and pulled her hair over her shoulder. "You can call me cruel, if it makes you feel better. I'm only hardest on you because I feel more protective of you than anyone else." Wrapping his arms around her waist, he lightly kissed her throat and whispered in her ear, "If anything were to happen to you, I daresay I would find that slightly harder to bear."

"What cold way to describe something so sweet," she remarked sardonically, smiling at him over her shoulder.

Regardless, she wrapped her arms around his own and leaned back against his chest. Tilting her head back, she met his gaze and brought a hand up to wrap around the back of his head. She pulled his lips down onto hers as he brought a hand up to caress her jawline. Their tongues danced while his free hand moved down her body, lingering and teasing the flesh above her panties before dipping inside. Eve pulled away with a gasp as his fingers rubbed at her clit. His lips moved down her throat, biting and sucking at the flesh. Eve rubbed her butt against the the growing hardness behind her and bit her lip, her hand squeezing at the wrist teasing her. Owen's hand left her as he spun her around and pushed her onto the bed. He knelt at the end of the bed and stalked his way toward her, kissing his way up her thighs as she gripped the metal piping that was their headboard. When his mouth finally latched onto hers, his hands moved up her arms and wrapped his hands around her own, keeping them pinned to the pipes that made up their headboard.

* * *

"This is crazy. We are _not_ in Brazil," Rome exclaimed frantically. "So now we got cars flying in the air? Or some 007 type shit? This is _not _what we do!"

Tej rolled his eyes and told him, "Man, you _really_ gotta check that emotion! Your voice just went from Shaggy to Scooby-Doo!" He started mocking his friend, mimicking the cartoon dog while Rome just glared at him. Off to the side, Han watched them and chuckled.

"See, man, when a woman starts shooting at you," Rome said, pointing at Han, "that's a _clear_ sign to back the _fuck_ off! We need to get the hell outta dodge!" Pointing at the wrecked car, he cried, "That coulda been my forehead, man!"

"Nah, that's not as big as your forehead," Tej told him seriously and walked away. Leaving Rome to feel his head self-consciously, the circuit man walked over to the silent Han. "So, speaking of women, where's Gisele, man?" he asked curiously, watching Han very carefully. Brian walked past them, on his cell with Mia, and couldn't stop the scowl on his face as he looked at Han. Needless to say, despite the happiness of his own life, Brian was still less than happy with how Han had treated Eve.

Han shrugged and answered, "Probably on a beach somewhere. She took off after Madrid."

"Damn," he muttered, "that's some kind of karma shit at work, huh?" Han stared blankly at him a moment before going back to work, attempting to fix the car. Taking the hint, Tej backed off back to his corner of the group's work space. The slamming of the tools were the only sounds that came from Han's direction.

"Love you, too. Bye," Brian told Mia and hung up with a deep sigh. A moment later his phone beeped and he saw he had a text, from an unknown number. Curiously, he opened it up and stared at it. He looked around the shop at the others, who were too occupied in their own work to noticed Brian. His eyes ran over the message again before he deleted it. "I'm gonna get some air. Be back later," he announced, moving quickly but casually towards the elevator. He heard Rome telling him that it wasn't a good idea, he heard Tej echoing that fact, but he didn't care. Brian had somewhere he had to be and he had two hours to get there.

_Kyoto Garden in 2 hours. See you there, pussy._

Brian had to go meet Eve.

It took him almost the entire two hours to get to Kyoto Garden. He still wasn't used to the tube system and after getting off three times and being told he was in the wrong area – and then given a series of complex directions that he couldn't fully understand, due to a combination of the accent and slang – he finally managed to get on the right train. He checked his watch and quickened his pace, nearly sprinting as he weaved through the various paths in the vast park. He passed dozens of people and looked around in awe at his surroundings. An orangery, a giant chess set – which he admittedly stopped to stare at curiously for a moment longer than necessary – cricket and tennis matches, a hostel, and playgrounds filled with screaming, giggling children. Kyoto Garden wasn't just a beautiful spot, it also had that mystery of having so many different attractions. He could see why Eve liked it so much.

It may not have been as big as Hyde Park or Richmond Park, but Holland Park was far more beautiful to Eve. Kyoto Garden was her favorite part of the park and had quickly become Eve's favorite place in London, the Eye being a very close second. The garden was peaceful and quiet, a gift to commemorate the long friendship between Japan and Great Britain. It was carefully designed to reflect key traits of Japanese gardens, including stone lanterns, tiered waterfalls, and plenty of fish. It was truly authentic to her former home. The crashing water was occasionally mixed with the squawks of peacocks – yes, peacocks – who wandered around the park. Despite the occasional bird calls, a few minutes in Kyoto Garden was enough to have a restorative effect over Eve's trouble mind and spirit. She sprayed a bit of feed into the pond she was standing before and looked around. She easily spotted Brian and smiled fondly as he looked around dubiously.

"Over here, pussy!"

Brian turned around and saw Eve standing near a pond with waterfalls, flipping off a couple that was glaring at her. Probably due to her crass and disruptive shouting in the peaceful area; Brian couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head in amusement. Same old Eve. The couple immediately left and she looked back at Brian, smiling and waving, as he took her in. She looked exactly the same, a little more toned and tougher but essentially the same. She still had her long blonde hair, she still wore tight jeans and leather boots, a leather jacket. Even her smile was the same, friendly and big, carefree. Eve was exactly as Brian remembered her and he quickened his pace to her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. He held her close, lifting her up in the air as her arms latched around his neck, laughing happily. He took in the smell of her and recognized the hints of motor oil and smirked. What was it Dom had said to him once? "Buster became a gear head", that fit Eve perfectly. On her end, she was marveling over how tan Brian was and how clean he smelled. A mixture of the salty ocean air and baby powder. It was strange and yet, somehow, it was comforting and not entirely bizarre. A moment later, he set her feet back on the ground but they clung to one another a few seconds longer.

"How you been?" she inquired, reluctantly pulling away from him. "Mia, the baby?"

"Good, good. Mia and Jack are great," he assured her, thinking of his wife and son. "Got a place in the Canary Islands." That explained the smell, she thought.

"Jack?" Brian nodded, grinning that same idiot-grin of his. "It's good to see you," she confessed.

"Wish I could say the same." And here it comes, she thought and turned her attention back to the pond and swarm of fish eating the feed she'd tossed. "What are you doing, Eve?" he questioned, deathly serious.

"What do you _think_ I'm doing?" she returned.

"Honestly? I think you're being stupid, that's what I think." She laughed at his honestly and shook her head, amused. "Thought we all agreed to quit the old life."

"I _did_, Bri. I quit my old life cold turkey," she assured him.

"And now you're this, a terrorist?" Eve scoffed at the word. "This is the life you decided to make for yourself? We pulled that heist so we could all start over, have a clean slate, so we wouldn't have to run from the law anymore and you choose to do this?" Was he seriously lecturing her right now? Seriously? _Him?_

"What can I say? I'm addicted," she retorted nonchalantly, shrugging.

Brian shook his head, "I don't buy that."

"You don't need to. You just need to listen, and you better listen good because I'm only gonna tell you once." Eve turned back to face Brian, all happiness and mirth wiped from her face. "You're my brother, Brian, and that's the only reason I am giving you this one chance. Get out now," she pleaded, "please."

"And if I don't?" he challenged.

"Then Owen will kill you," she answered, point blank. "And Dom, your team, and _everyone _you care about." Brian took a step towards her, face dark and voice low.

"Is that a threat?"

"You bet your ass it is, and he will be make good on it." How could she make him understand? She had to warn him, she just had to! "Owen isn't like us. He doesn't have a moral compass or code. Remember how I told you Hobbs was a machine?" Brian remembered that moment very well; it was the only time he'd ever seen her scared. Ever. "Well, Owen makes Hobbs look like a wind-up toy." Brian looked down at her, perplexed, until it hit him.

"You're scared of him," Brian realized.

"You're damn right I am! Any smart person would be! You wouldn't _believe_ the kind of connections he has." She sure as hell hadn't, not until they'd started pulling their jobs_._

"Then why do you stay with him, huh? If he scares you so much, why stick around?" Eve shook her head.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," he insisted. Eve licked her lips and took a deep breath, sighing as she focused back on the pond.

"After Han, I went back to Japan. I tried to get back into my old routine, pretend like things were normal, but they weren't; _everything_ had changed. So I left, went back to my old stomping grounds," she admitted and Brian guessed she meant Malaysia, "and tried to forget. But I couldn't. Every day was just...it hurt. It hurt so much; to talk, to _breathe_. I have _never_ in my life felt so..." Broken, but she wouldn't say it. Not out loud, not ever, not even to Brian. Composing herself, she continued, "Anyway, I ran into Owen and for the first time in a long time, I felt something." She'd felt something that was anger or despair. "And it felt _good_, to be...appreciated and cared for and treated like I was actually _worth_ something, like I wasn't just a piece of trash dumped on the side of the road. So, yeah," she shrugged, "Owen may scare me a little with his methodologies, but at least he doesn't treat me like I'm disposable." Disposable, that was what Wuji had said she was to Han and, she had to admit, as much as it hurt, it sounded right.

Brian sighed and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry for what he did to you, but this? Shaw? It's not—"

"This isn't _just _about Han. Not entirely." Which was true, considering she was in deep cover. Part of her _was _with Owen to forget about Han, because he made her feel something again. Maybe it wasn't the deep love she'd felt for her ex, but it was something akin to it. The other part of her was back in 2004, playing the undercover agent to bring down a ring of criminals. She was walking a very fine, very dangerous line. Her phone beeped, signaling the end of their time together and Eve turned off the alarm. "I gotta go. You gonna make tracks or what? I need to know."

Brian shook his head and solemnly replied, "Can't do that."

"Okay." Eve let out a breath and nodded. "It really was nice seeing you again, Brian. All things considered." Brian nodded, tense, every part of him telling him to grab her and drag her back to Hobbs, get her protection. "See 'ya around, pussy," she called over her shoulder, waving at him.

"Bitch," he called after her, a small smile on his face as he heard her laugh. The moment she was out of sight, Brian's face fell to a frown. He had to do something, he had to set this right. He had to protect Eve, at all costs. He wasn't going to let her get hurt, not again.

* * *

"Shaw!" Jah called out and waved his phone at him. Owen held out his hand and Jah tossed him the phone, putting it to is ear, he listened at the female voice on the other end. It wasn't familiar but then the second voice was. It was Firuz, the man that helped design and build their flip cars, among other things, and with him was a woman and two men. Hobbs' people, definitely, and they were looking for him.

"Eve, take a ride," Owen ordered calmly. "Firuz has visitors."

"Ivory, Jah, let's go," she ordered as she headed towards their Range Rover.

"Letty," Owen called out. "Go with them." Hesitantly, the other woman nodded.

The men grabbed their sub-machine guns while Eve checked her Beretta and hopped into the passenger seat. Jah drove them to Firuz's shop and all four slowly approached. Eve nodded to the boys and they immediately started firing on shop were they could make out the shapes of Firuz and his guests. Eve stood back beside Letty, watching patiently until a woman jumped out a side door and started firing. Eve and Letty both pull their guns and started firing. Shots fired from her left distracted her from the unknown woman as Han and Rome joined the fray. Taking her attention off Letty, who was pinned against wall, Eve took cover inside the shop and waited against a wall. Across the room, she saw Han kneeling over a dying Firuz, who passed him his phone. Jah ran in at that moment, firing at anything that moved like an idiot until his clip finally ran out. Rome came out of his hiding place and made to run at Jah, but the killer pulled a handgun from his waist and took aim.

BANG! BANG!

Jah fell to the ground dead, two shots to is chest. Rome looked around the garage and saw Eve, her gun raised. She'd killed him, she'd protected Rome and, essentially, Han. What the hell was she doing? Letty was nowhere to be found, neither was the redhead who had been with the boys. That only meant one thing: Letty was alone and being hunted. Eve had to get out there and find her before anything happened, like her being arrested or killed. The sound of an engine made her glance away for a moment and she saw Ivory attempting to make a getaway on a motorcycle. Attempting because Han shot up from Firuz's body and fired at him, killing him and crashing his bike. She raised her gun once again, pointing it directly at Rome. The man had previously been walking towards her with a big grin on his face, babbling about how good it was to see her, paused and raised his arms in surrender.

"Sorry about this," she said. Aiming at his shoulder, which wouldn't kill him but it sure as hell would slow him down, she quickly pulled the trigger. Click. Click. Eve looked at her gun and ejected the mag, staring at it in horror. It was empty. Looking up, she saw Rome walking towards her with a seriously pissed look on his face. Not only that, Han was approaching as well. "Shit!" she cursed and chucked the gun, taking off running. She jumped over tables and equipment Firuz had randomly lying about and crashed through a door. Jogging up the stairwell, she panted as she bolted through the tunnels that led up to the Waterloo station. Eve pushed her way through people until two guys tripped her up and she fell flat on her face.

"Hey, you!" Eve looked up and saw three bobbies looking at her. "Stop right there!"

Taking a breath, Eve rose to her feet and sauntered over to them with a sly smile. As soon as one was close to her she kicked him in the stomach. He fell on his back and she quickly pulled the next one closest to her, swinging him behind her to slam him head first into the display. The third was clocked jaw, sending him face down to the floor, as she spun around and did a roundhouse kick the first bobby that managed to get to his feet. When the next one rose to his feet, she body slammed him and used the force to propel herself backwards, kicking the bobby behind her into the glass sign behind him. Two down for the count for good, just the last one left. Smirking, Eve cocked her head and ran full force at the man. He was completely unprepared for her to catch his arm as he tried to punch her. With her arms locking his one over her shoulder, Eve kneed the copper in the stomach before flipping him over her shoulder. Eve jumped over with him and landed on top of him, elbowing him in the gut as his head cracked against the tile floor.

Rolling to her feet, Eve took a breath and saw Rome and Han slide to a stop. The stared at her, at the damage she caused, in stunned silence. Quirking a brow, she cracked her neck and clenched her hands into fists at her side. Han tapped Rome on his chest and ran straight at her, Rome right behind him. Finally, she was going to get to give him the beat down she'd always wanted. Han grabbed her arms and she punched him in the gut. A second later, Rome landed a punch to her jaw, apologizing as he did so. Her response? She punched him right back. Han tried grab her once again but she kneed him in the groin and pushed herself away from both of them. Rome ran at her but she jumped up and spun around, kicking him in the stomach. He fell to the ground with a groan and loud smack, holding his stomach and telling her she was a cold bitch. Eve shrugged and turned her attention to Han, who had his hands up to fight and was bouncing on his feet.

"Seriously, Han?" Eve chuckled and shook her head at him. "Who do you think you are, Bruce Lee?" she teased.

"I don't wanna fight you, Eve," he told her desperately.

"But I _so_ wanna fight you," she retorted. "Come on," she told him, waving at him to come closer, "give me your best shot. I _dare_ you."

Han bounced over to her and threw a punch. It was terrible. Han was a lover, not a fighter. When it came to their relationship, she was the muscle and he seemed to have forgotten that. She easily dodged his punch and ducked as he swung at her again. That time, however, he swung too hard and ended up spinning himself around. Eve caught him though, with her arm around his throat and pulled his back against her chest. She tightened her grip, starting Rome down as he approached them. Han was choking as he tried to shout no at Rome but the man didn't listen. He slammed his fist into the side of Han's face, forcing Eve to release him with a laugh. Her joy was short live, however, as Rome sucker punched her. Stone-faced, she slammed an uppercut to his jaw and sent him sprawling to the floor. Whipping around, she came face to face with Han as he attempted to hit her once again. Eve easily caught his fist and swung him around and pushed him straight into Rome. Her two former friends stumbled away from her, falling over each other and their feet. Eve stood back and admired her handy work with amusement as they attempted to steady themselves.

"Go!" Han panted, pushing at Rome.

"No, you go!" Rome returned, pushing his partner straight toward Eve.

"No need to fight, boys! There's plenty beat down to go around," she promised sadistically.

Rome, tired as he was, threw two punches at her. Eve blocked both with her forearms and used them to push him behind her, grabbing him by the collar of his coat and throwing him to the ground. Han ran up and tried to grab her arms and pull her towards him, but she pushed him away and punched him. Turning around, she was met by Rome's fist on his cheek. Rome bounced on is feet and tried to punch her once again, but she moved out the way. He tried again, she dodged once more. The next time he tried, she grabbed his arm, kneed him in the stomach, and spun him around, flipping and pushing him away from her. She grunted in pain as Han sent a kidney shot to her back and whipped around to face him. When his arm flew out, she grabbed it and threw herself up, wrapping around his body and flipping the both of them over and onto the ground. Enough was enough. It was time to put an end to it. Eve jumped up and put her feet together, kicking Rome through the glass wall as he was trying to get back on his feet. When she landed, it was with her elbow jamming into Han's back. Eve rose to her feet easily and looked both of them over. It seemed they'd gotten lazy in their new lives as millionaires. Smirking, Eve shook her head at the pair of them and walked away, melting into the crowd with ease. She had to find Letty.

Rome stumbled over to Han and helped him to his feet, stating, "No one needs to know about this. _No one_." Panting, Han nodded in agreement, clutching a hand to his side. He was pretty sure Eve had cracked a rib.

* * *

"We lost Ivory and Jah. They're gone," Letty informed Owen as she walked into the hideout. Eve had returned almost an hour beforehand after failing to locate Letty. She'd been a little bloody and bruised but no worse for the wear. Adolfson had patched her up while Owen interrogated her. When she told him that she'd fought Han and Rome, he'd been pleased with her loyalty to him and his cause. He'd been even happier when she said she'd kicked their asses black and blue, along with a few local authorities.

Owen glanced up from his work with Vegh and replied, "Thanks." Eve didn't blink at this, used to having teammates come and go in the past year. All of them, even her, were replaceable to him. Eve understood this but Letty paused and stared at him in disgust. This was the first time they'd lost crew to death and that was what he had to say?

"That's it?"

"If they're dead, it's because they made a mistake," he told her seriously. "You make a mistake, you pay the price."

"That's a great eulogy, Shaw," Letty sneered sarcastically. "You gonna give the same speech to the rest of us when we go out?" She stormed away from the team and into the enclosed garage that had been Ivory's. Her car, 1973 Jensen Interceptor, that he'd been working on was still there. He'd almost finished tuning it up for her. Owen tossed his pen down and followed her.

"You guys keep working," Eve told Vegh and and Adolfson, who were pouring over papers. Putting her pen down, Eve walked down the steps and trailed after Owen and Letty. As she quietly walked through the door, she heard Owen tell Letty how he'd hate to see her make a mistake. Whether it was genuine concern or a thinly veiled threat, Eve wasn't sure. Letty told him she was going out for some air and Eve walked up behind him as the other woman drove out of sight. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she rested her forehead against his shoulder and sighed. "I'll talk to her," she assured him.

"Make sure she's not distracted," he told her.

"I said I'll talk to her," she insisted.

_**A/N: **_I hope you guys liked the fight! It was a pain in the ass to write out but also so much fun. Don't ask me how that works, it just does.

Also, I'm not gonna lie, you guys. I never understood the point of Gisele. I mean, seriously, think about this. She shows up in_ Fast & Furious_ working for a drug cartel. She was one of the bad guys and, not only that, she kept trying to get into Dom's pants – bitch, please! He is Letty's man! Then she shows up in _Fast Five_ and gets all over Han! Not to mention she uses her sexuality as a weapon; that whole "he's a man" thing. Seriously, all you have is a gun and your vag to work with? Personally, I think that's terrible writing. You don't see Letty or Mia acting like that. They use guns, their cars, their fists, and their brains. Do they sometimes rely on the men in their lives when they're in a tight spot? Yeah, but they always try to sort themselves out first. Gisele is just kind of...there. And I never understood why Dom called her in to help out in _Five_. I mean, she told them Braga's location and took off, that was it. She betrayed the man she worked for; that's not the kind of person I'd want on my team. But maybe that's just me.

Now, I had this other idea of Gisele being there but double crossing the team – that would seriously fit her profile and it would go back to her employment to Braga, but I don't like her and I didn't feel like writing her. Call me lazy if you want, but it makes getting Han and Eve back together just a bit easier. Also, just to clarify, any of the important stuff Gisele did for the team, just assume Han does it, like the phone/Braga connection. So, basically, I've completely written her out _Fast Six _so she won't die but she won't be turning up again either. Even if the writers pull some magical bullshit where she survives that fall from the plane, Gisele will never been seen again. Mentioned? Maybe, but not seen. You have my word!

P.S.: Ten pages total.


	25. Chapter 25

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

Hello, my darlings!

I'm so sorry for not updating sooner, guys. Initially, I had planned on posting a chapter in January - on my 25th birthday actually! - but, alas, college has started up again and its running my life. But I lucked out and got a snow day, so here I am, updating my latest stories!

I've heard no other news about _Fast Seven _but I'll be sure to keep you guys posted. Oh, and happy Valentines to anyone whose celebrating tomorrow. I'm not lol

**Chapter 25**

Eve hopped on her Triumph and took off out of their hideout. She knew where the local races were held and sped off after Letty, knowing she would go to them. Every now and again, the pair of them would go to the races and just watch. It was relaxing to them, familiar, to be surrounded by the noise. Even the skanks didn't bother Eve as much. Unlike Han, Owen never looked at another woman. True, the man wasn't a romantic but he was loyal. Well, he was loyal to her at the very least. Letty felt like racing so Eve stood on the sidelines and watched in amusement as Letty kicked ass. That woman was a hell of a racer. Sure, she up-shifted early which caused her to lose traction and made the back end shift out, but she was still one of the best racers Eve had ever seen. After collecting the cash owed to her, Letty leaned against the hood of her Interceptor beside Eve.

"Back when we first met," she began, crossing her arms, "you said you'd been to my funeral."

"Yeah. In a manner of speaking," she laughed. At Letty confused look, she explained, "I was back in the country under FBI surveillance as part of a deal to help bring down this cartel guy, Braga. So I was at your funeral, just a couple...hundred feet away. Give or take." Eve chuckled again and Letty couldn't help but shake her head in amusement. Seeing the questions about to spill out, Eve told her, "You'd been running with Brian, our mutual friend, trying to get yours and Dom's names cleared so you could come home. But shit went down and you died, or so we thought. Brian called me in and we got together with Dom, set shit right."

"Me and this Dom guy, we were close?" she asked curiously.

"Understatement," Eve answered with a grin. "Your death _destroyed_ him. Dom is all about family and matters of family are sacred. Losing you though?" She shook her head and sighed. "I don't know, he just snapped and went completely off the reservation. He was a one man war machine. Once your killer was dead, he went back to normal. Like he just flipped a switch or something."

"Sounds...epic."

"I don't think there's a better word to describe you two." Looking over at Letty, she saw the woman duck her head and smile. Biting her lip, Eve looked around the racers and stated, "You can walk away from this at any time, Letty." The other woman whipped her head around to stare at her, stunned and confused. "I won't judge you and I'll even keep Owen off your back. Go find Dom," she advised. "Be with him and be safe."

"I don't _know_ him!" she argued, staring at the blonde as if she were insane.

"Doesn't matter. That man has _killed_ for you, Letty, and he will gladly do it again. I'm just asking you to save some lives here." Letty pursed her lips and look away, staring out at the dancing crowd. Eve squeezed the other woman's shoulder and told her, "Owen may not care about this team, but I know _you_ do. So save them."

Accusingly, she questioned, "Why don't _you_ do it?"

"Because I have to stay. I don't have a choice." Which was partially true. Eve had to stay to keep informing on Owen to the FBI, whenever she could, or she'd go to prison. But she didn't really want to leave either. Owen was fun and the sex was spectacular but with Brian and the others being in town, she wasn't so sure how much longer the fun would last. Hell, she'd already killed for them.

"Then I'm staying, too," Letty told her. Eve went to argue with her but Letty cut her off. "You said that Dom is a family man. You apart of that family?"

Sighing, she nodded reluctantly and answered, "Yeah."

"I may not remember anything, but I _do_ know you don't abandon your family. I'm not gonna leave you here alone," she stated firmly. "We either go together or we stay together, that's the deal." Eve cocked her head and nodded slowly.

"I guess we're staying then," she surmised.

Letty spotted the other driver she had beaten earlier that night and walked over to him. Eve pulled out a cigarette and lit it up, watching in amusement as the guy reluctantly passed over his cash. He tried to walk away until Letty grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Eve laughed as the guy passed her his keys and hopped off the hood of the Interceptor, joining Letty as they checked out the new merchandize she'd won. It was a Spyker C8, a two-door scissor style convertible. Normally, it was a machine that could top out at 186 mph but, given that a racer owned it, Eve was willing to bet it had all sorts of modifications. Letty slammed the door down as Eve shut the hood, passing Eve the keys to it as she head to her Interceptor. Eve pulled out her cell and turned it on, ignoring the various messages from Bilkins, and called up Denlinger, telling him they had a new car that needed to be towed in to base. He assured her he'd be there in ten and the call ended at that. Eve looked back at her cell and quickly read through all the texts from Bilkins; some were recent, others were months old. She had a number of voice mails as well, considering her inbox was full. Eve dialed the number and held the phone to her ear. Voice mail, thank goodness for small favors.

"It's me. Shaw got the database, as I'm sure you already know. Sorry about the lack of communication, but our next hit is gonna be the NATO base in Spain. Follow the convoy. Hurry." Eve ended the call and turned off her phone, shoving it back into the pocket of her leather jacket. Following the crowd that had gathered outside, she saw Letty lining up for her next race. Her next competitor rode up, riding in a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. "No way," she mumbled, shaking her head with a grin at the sight of Dom. It wasn't his classic 1970 Dodge Charger R/T but it was still close; that man sure loved Chargers and, really, she couldn't blame him. She was the same way with Mustangs.

"You gonna lurk over there all night or are you gonna come out and play?" Eve's relaxed posture immediately tensed up at the familiar voice, at the familiar line. Those had been the first words he ever said to her, not exact but close enough. "Chip?" Han offered, holding the bag out to her. Eve took a drag of her cigarette and blew the smoke in his face, chuckling as he coughed and fanned the smoke away.

"You guys have some serious balls," she remarked. "You got a death wish or something? One beat down wasn't enough for you?"

"You pulled your punches," he retorted. Eve sniffed and took a drag of her cigarette, pointedly ignoring him. Her focus was entirely on Letty and Dom, making sure nothing bad happened. Did she think Dom would hurt Letty? Never. But would Letty hurt him if she felt threatened? Hell yes. "Fine. Maybe not on Rome, which was hysterical, so thanks for the laughs, but you pulled 'em with me."

"You're mistaken," she retorted stiffly.

"Okay, fine. Maybe you didn't pull a few of them," he conceded and sighed. Damn straight she hadn't pulled a few of them. "Guess I deserved them," he observed.

Eve scoffed and sarcastically asked, "Ya think?" Han opened his mouth to say something but she held her hand up to silence him, watching as the flagger, Rita, stepped into the road between the cars.

"Listen up! Out here, we're used to getting what we want. This is London, baby!" The crowd around them cheered loudly, Eve whistling at her with a grin. "But remember! Don't. Bite. The bait. Are you ready?" The crowd went nuts again and she pointed to Letty, asking, "Ready?" Eve smirked as the engine revved and Rita turned to Dom. "Steady." His engine roared. Grinning, Rita raised her arms and dropped to the ground, screaming, "Go!" Both of them took off out of the races, the Charger with a jump in the air. As the crowd clapped and cheered, Eve turned and walked away from Han. Pushing her way through the crowd, Eve made her way back to her bike.

"So, what's the deal with you and Shaw?" Han asked and Eve couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Hobbs said you're his girl. That true?"

Laughing, she asked, "Why, you jealous?"

"Like crazy," he answered honestly. Eve shook her head and weaved through the crowd. "So, come on, spill. What's he like?"

"He tastes like you but sweeter," she answered vindictively. Han stopped walking and stared after her. Eve stopped in front of her bike, finishing her cigarette and stomping it out. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Han standing a few feet away from her looking like someone had kicked his puppy. Taking pity on him, she walked back over and whispered seriously, "Look, you shouldn't be here. _None_ of you should be. You're in _way_ over your head."

"I'm here for you," he remarked. Smirking, Eve played with the zipper of his jacket and pulled him close.

"You believe in love and all that shit?" she asked teasingly. "You got someone you love, Han?" she mocked. "She leave you? She break your heart?" she asked, knowing very well that Gisele wasn't around given the fact that her file wasn't passed around the team after Interpol. Han's eyes moved from hers to stare out at the crowd and she pulled away with a small smile. "Awww, that's too bad," she cooed sarcastically. "Hurts, doesn't it?" she sneered, triumphant.

"Be a bitch about it," he commented, following her as she moved back to her bike, "that's fine. I always loved that about you." Eve ran her hands through her hair and sighed heavily as she turned to face him.

"That girl you remember? That's not me. Not anymore."

"Yes, you are." Han stepped up, invading her personal space, and gently ran the back of his fingers across her cheek. She bit her bottom lip and she leaned into his familiar touch. "Like it or not," he whispered, "you're still the same girl. I saw her in that fight. I see her right now." Opening her eyes, Eve stared up at Han, her heart pounding as he leaned in to kiss her. Over his shoulder, she a familiar pickup pulled in to the race. Denlinger, she realized, and panicked.

"I gotta go." Moving around Han, she started to go towards the Spyker C8 when he grabbed her arm. She whipped around and stared at him, trying to pull her arm free but he wouldn't let her.

"Just tell me one thing," he pleaded. "Does he make you happy?"

Smiling wanly, she answered, "He doesn't make me cry." Like you do, was the silent statement. With that, Eve ripped her arm free from him and walked over to Denlinger and helped him get Letty's win loaded up. When she turned back to her bike, Han was gone.

* * *

The following morning, Eve woke up alone and deliciously sore. Owen had been insatiable the night before. Of course, that could have been due to Denlinger opening his big mouth and telling him about Han at the races. Had he known who Han was? No, of course not. Denlinger was an idiot, but all he had to do was tell Owen that another man had been around his territory and he got very possessive. After stretching herself out, and even doing a few push ups, Eve emerged from her room and headed towards the main work space in time to see Letty storming off. Concerned, she switched her gaze from Letty's back to Owen. Squaring her shoulders, she walked up the ramp and meandered over to him. On the table, was the file on Dom and, much to her surprise, the silver crucifix he always wore. Reaching for it, Eve picked it up and weighed it in her hand. Dom must have given it to Letty because he never parted with it, never. Although why she didn't have it, why it was abandoned on the table, was beyond her.

"I'm gonna ask you a question, Evie," he began and she smiled at the nickname, "and I want you think _very_ hard before you answer." Owen eased her back against the work table, hands on her hips, and held her there. "When I give you the order to take Lue out, what will your first thought be?" Her smirk fell into a frown as she looked up at him.

"Why don't _you_ look me in the eyes, and _you_ tell _me_ what you see?" She stared hard at him, not blinking, face stone. He chuckled and pulled her into his arms, kissing her lips.

"How are we?" he asked seriously, getting back to business.

"Klaus and Denlinger finished painting the truck last night." The paint was highly specialized, anti-thermal low IR coding, military. Exactly what they needed to get into the base. "It's ready to go," she answered with a scowl, annoyed that he was _still _questioning her loyalty.

"Time to move out then," he told her. Eve nodded and gave him a quick peck before going to get the others up and moving. After all, they had to get to Spain. "Wait!" Eve stopped dead, heart pounding and holding her breath, listening as his footsteps approached her. His arm wrapped around her waist while the other appeared before her eyes. Dom's necklace dropped down and swung before her eyes. He undid the clasp and moved to put it around her neck, but she grabbed his hand and stopped him.

"Don't," she ordered. Shaking her head, a little disgusted that he would try and gift that particular necklace to her, Eve pushed his arm out of the way and walked off to get the rest of the team up and moving. Once the others were up and cleaning out their base, Eve approached Owen. "I can't find Vegh or Klaus."

"They're taking care of something for me," he replied.

"What?"

Owen smirked and pulled her close, kissing her lips and telling her, "Don't worry about it." Watching him walk away though, she bit her lips and couldn't help but worry about it. Owen had never hid anything from her and, now, all of a sudden, he was hiding something. If there was one thing Eve hated, it was surprises.

* * *

"Owen!" Eve called out, climbing up the ladder to meet him and Letty on the roof. They had arrived in Lusitania eight hours ago and immediately set about putting their plan into motion. "Everyone is in place. All things moving according to plan." Owen looked down on the base through his binoculars and nodded. Owen ordered her to sent Adolfson in and she nodded, telling the other man to get into his uniform and infiltrate the NATO base. He nodded and accepted his mission like a man.

His mission was to go in under the dead of night. He would wait until morning and allow himself to be captured while disabling the perimeter security system. Overnight, the base's security had been amped up. Four teams on over watch, sniper spotters on roosts north and south of their target. That only meant one of two things: either her friends had figured out their plan and Hobbs had arrived, or Bilkins got her message and was waiting for them. Since there were no other cars in sight but a huge Navistar, that meant it was just Hobbs was at the base. But that didn't matter because everyone was expecting them to come barreling through the base in their truck. But Hobbs was predictable. Once they discovered the base was compromised, he would have it moved out to a secure location. _That _would be when they'd strike, when they'd least expect it. Everything was going according to plan. While Owen, Letty and Denlinger would strike the convoy and get their prize, Eve would take out the rest of the convoy.

It had started off so familiar. Eve couldn't help but remember when she helped bust Dom out of his prison bus. The adrenaline, the danger, the excitement – it just felt the same. Eve sped up the dirt and rock strewn hill just off the main highway and barreled onto the road. After a bit of swerving, she straightened out and shifted the gears to pick up speed. Weaving in and out of traffic was easy and, soon enough, they were directly behind the convoy. Since it was just the four of them left, it was easy to get ready. They were strapped, wired, packing, fully loaded and ready to go. The moment the convoy was in sight, Owen and the others rose to stand on the seats.

"Let's go!" Owen ordered.

Eve nodded and sped up, crashing into the back of the truck that was guarding the rear of their target. This forced it to slam into the back of the big trailer that held their target. Denlinger climbed over first, shooting the drivers inside through the roof. The moment he stopped, Owen climbed over their vehicle, to the military car acting as a bridge, and jumped for the trailer's ladder. Denlinger followed after and Eve swerved her truck around to the side, dodging their faux bridge as it served out of control, flipping and rolling across the highway and over the side. Eve sped up and kept it steady next to the trailer, allowing Letty to jump to the side ladder and climb up. The moment she was alone, Eve sped up to the car in front and drove far ahead of it. The moment she was far enough away, she pressed the button and out shot the two high tensile titanium cables, the kind used to anchor buildings and hold up bridges; it was their last present from Firuz. In her rear view, Eve saw the cables were firmly embedded into the rocky mountainside and pressed the button again. This time, it made the loose wires taunt and stretched across the road. The other truck of the convoy flipped in the air while the trailer was completely destroyed. The tank that had been inside, the one that Owen and the others were inside of, drove over the trapped trailer and destroyed what was left of the military convoy.

"_All systems go,"_ Denlinger announced over their comm.

"_Everything looks stable,"_ Letty added. Now that her part was done, Eve was meant to ride ahead and meet them at the airstrip. Instead, she planned to call Bilkins and get word on whatever plan he had cooked up. At least, that had been the plan until she spotted a series of flashy cars flying down the other side of the highway.

"We got company, guys!" Eve announced. Slamming her hands on the wheel, she cursed Dom, Brian and the others for interfering. Didn't Brian or Han tell them her warnings? Even if they had, it wouldn't matter and she should have known that. Those boys, the whole lot of them, were too damn stubborn for their own good. "It's Toretto and his team! They're coming right 'ya!"

"_Okay,"_ Owen replied. _"Get the weapons hot. Give me satellite imagery." _In her rear view, Eve spotted a motorcycle speeding up toward her.

"What the hell?" she mumbled in confusion.

Last she checked, the only one on the team who rode a bike besides her was Gisele and wasn't with them. So who the hell was riding up on her ass on that Ducati? Swerving around a series of cars, Eve wished more than ever that Jah or Ivory were still alive. Had they been, one of them would've been driving the damn jeep and she could have been on her Triumph making a quick getaway. But no! She'd killed Jah and her friends had killed Ivory so she was shit out of luck! Eve should have known offing Jah would come back to bite her in the ass. The jeep was far too slow compared to the bike and the driver almost immediately caught up with her. Looking to her right she was stunned to see Han. He grinned at her and nodded and, annoyed at his cockiness, she rammed the side of the jeep into his bike. Han grabbed the bars overhead as the bike crashed into a mess on the highway. Eve gaped at him as he lost grip and reached over with one hand to pull him towards her.

"Watch the road!" he warned and she looked ahead.

"Shit!" she gasped and let go of him to put both hands back on the wheel. Swerving around the car in front of her, Han just missing being smashed, she sped around the civilian vehicle and straightened out on the road. When she looked back at Han, he was perfectly balanced on the edge of the jeep and had a gun pointed at her.

"_Straight ahead of us,"_ Letty said.

"_There you are,"_ she heard Owen mutter in her ear. A moment later, the tank fired into the mountainside, destroyed a few civilians and almost hitting Dom and the other boys.

"Pull over," Han ordered and Eve did just that. The moment the jeep was parked off to the side of the road, Eve ripped out her earpiece and slowly stepped out, hands raised in surrender. This was definitely a funny turn of events. A loud crash was heard and the pair looked over to see the tank breaking through the barrier and driving on the other side of the road. Okay, that definitely wasn't part of the plan. "So, how's it going?" he asked casually. Stunned and pissed, Eve turned around slowly and stared at him. A moment later, she pushed the gun out of his hand and punched him in the jaw. "Whoa! What the hell, Eve?"

"You idiot!" she screamed, pushing him back and pounding on his chest. "Do you have _any_ idea how dangerous that was? What the _hell_ is the matter with you? Do you have a death wish or something?" With every shouted question, her hits got harder an harder and Han found himself yelping in pain. He tried to escape her but she just kept pushing and pushing him. "Huh?! What the actual _fuck _is wrong with you, Han? I _told_ you, you were in over your head but you can _never_ just _listen_ to me, can you? Can you?! Why couldn't you just listen for _once_ in your _miserable_ life, you stupid fucking bastard?!" Han quickly grabbed her hands and held them tight, pulling her against his chest to stop her assault.

"Because you don't turn your back on family," he answered easily. "Even when they do."

P.S.: Seven pages total.


	26. Chapter 26

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Fast and the Furious_ series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.

In honor of filming of _Fast 7_ commencing - using both body doubles (four actors with similar physiques) and CGI for Paul Walker - not to mention a confirmed new release date (April 10, 2015), I just thought I'd respond to some reviews and update.

ctrlaltdiee: I actually forgot that, that was from a Fall Out Boy song! lol I actually snagged the line from another movie, "Closer". Julia Roberts says it to her man, Clive Owens, about her affair with Jude Law and it was delivered with such anger and hate and frustration, because he'd been questioning her relentlessly, and I loved it. Eve wanted to hurt Han and I've always wanted to use that line, so it was just too good an opportunity to pass up lol

twibe: I hope you're happy that Eve didn't remain celibate! Hahaha! And, sorry for any confusion, but what I said was that, once the next movie is released, I could probably get it written in about four months. That's about how long it took my to write the first and Turbo Charged.

bridgetlynn: I meant to message you awhile ago but WINTER SUCKS! Been so freaking busy. Anyway, I finally watched "Better Luck Tomorrow" and it was so good. I love/hate the ending, because it was so inconclusive but it was good at the same time. And, holy crap, did you notice that the kid who plays Han's cousin is also Early in Tokyo Drift?! WTF?! lol

For everyone worrying about Han/Eve, just don't. They _are_ going to get back together - BUT ALL WILL NOT BE FORGIVEN IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE BECAUSE THAT'S JUST NOT REALISTIC! Han is going to have to work hard to regain Eve's trust and be let back into her heart. Ugh, that sounded so girly and cliche, I think I vomited a little bit lol Enjoy this chapter guys!

**Chapter 26**

The plan, in short, had failed. Owen had crashed the tank on the highway and all of them had been captured by Hobbs. Owen, Denlinger and herself were cuffed and taken to holding cells back on the NATO base. Letty, Eve noticed, hadn't been given the same treatment. Letty had been standing with Dom and the rest of the team when she'd been led past in the cuffs. They hovered around her, protecting her from the Feds. She'd been on Owen's team, yes, but she didn't have her memory. It was a piss poor excuse, considering all the shit she'd help do over the past year, but it was an excuse the team was willing to believe. As opposed to Eve, who had her memory intact and voluntarily tried to kill them at every turn. Or so they thought. Eve paced her cell with a grim face and cracked her neck. She was restless. She knew that the morons at NATO wouldn't be able to believe they'd hijacked the seventy ton tank for a three ounce computer chip – hell, Eve couldn't really believe that had been the plan either – but it was what it was. That computer chip was more deadly than a hundred of those tanks and it was their final component. The light above her switched on and the door to her cell swung open. Two guards stood there and grabbed her, leading her down the gloomy hallway and thrust her into a room. Eve sat down at the table and put her cuffed hands on the table with a sigh.

"I want my phone call," Eve stated, not even bothering to look at Hobbs as he walked in.

"You'll get your phone call when I'm damn good and ready to let you have it," he remarked. Slamming her file down on the table, he slid it to her but Eve kept her eyes trained on him.

"I want my phone call," she repeated.

"You're in a lot of trouble, Trudeau," he told her, slowly walking around the table. "You know your rap sheet better than anyone, but add terrorism to that? All the civilian's Shaw just murdered on that stretch of highway? You're an accessory to that, sweetheart." Hobbs let out an almost relieved sigh and smiled at her. "I've been waiting a _long_ time to get you behind bars, Trudeau. I've never looked more forward to filling out paperwork in my life," he informed her with a satisfied smirk. "With all the evidence you got piled against you, you're looking at maybe two life sentences. Served consecutively. You'll never get out, I guarantee it." He placed his hands on the table and leaning closer to her. "You got anything to say for yourself?"

Leaning forward, Eve didn't blink as she repeated, "I. Want. My. Phone call." Hobbs straightened up and shook his head, stalking out of the room. Before the door closed, however, she heard the him tell guard outside to let her have her phone call. Smirking, she waited to be escorted out or given a phone, knowing just who she was going to call.

An hour later, Eve was once again grabbed from her holding cell and led to the main arena. Her old team stared her down as she entered with the armed guards. Rome looked at her in disgust, Tej was just plain confused, sad even, and shaking his head. The looks of disappointment on Brian and Dom's face, however, was almost too much to bear. Han, on the other hand, his face was blank. He was good at that, she knew, masking his true emotions and he was doing a hell of a job of it at the moment. Brian started to walk over to her when a car sped into the base, nearly hitting him. The doors opened and Bilkins stepped out with Stasiak, who was sporting a very broken nose to Eve's delight.

"O'Connor. Toretto," Bilkins greeted with a nod to both men.

"What are you doing here?" Brian asked confusedly. Bilkins held up a folder by way of explanation as Stasiak sauntered over to Eve.

"You been sexually assaulted yet? 'Cause we could circle the base one more time." The pencil pusher grinned sadistically and Eve rolled her eyes.

"Suck my dick, Stasiak," she spat.

"Charming, as always," Bilkins commented with a short laugh, pushing the pair apart. "Get those cuffs off her," he ordered, waving at the guards around her. The NATO men looked at their superior as Hobbs uncrossed his arms and stalked over. Frustrated, Bilkins held up the folder and slapped it against Hobbs' chest. "Cut my agent loose, Hobbs, or I'll see you riding a desk for the rest of your natural born life. Now!" Brian looked back and forth between Eve and Bilkins, stunned.

"Your agent?" Brian looked at Eve, who smiled wanly at him and shrugged somewhat modestly. "Did you know about this?" he asked Stasiak, who nodded at him. "Why the _hell_ didn't you tell me?" Brian couldn't believe that he'd been back in the States, with Stasiak, and the man hadn't bothered to tell him this vital piece of information.

"Classified," he answered with a flippant shrug. Hobbs took the folder and opened it, flipping through and reading the papers. He slapped the folder closed with a heavy sigh and ordered the men to release her. Hobbs stormed out of the room, ordering Riley with him, so they could go get Owen and his team. The moment she was free, Eve rubbed her wrists and walked away from the armed guards with a grin.

"Took you long enough to get here," she jeered at Bilkins. "Didn't you get my message? I _told_ you, "Follow the convoy". Where the hell were you?"

"Don't make me have them throw you back in a cell," he warned, good-naturedly . "Had a lot of factors to deal with, the time difference being one. The other being Penning. He didn't think your information was credible given your stellar lack of updates throughout this op."

"Oh, please, you're breaking my heart," she sneered and rolled her eyes.

Startled and confused, Brian stepped up between the two and questioned, "All this time, you were—?"

"Undercover? Yeah," she answered. "You know how this goes, Bri. No matter how much I wanted to tell you the truth – and, believe me, I did – I couldn't. Besides, you guys were more interested in running me off the road and attempting a beat down than chatting." Rome ducked his head at that, scratching the back of his head and coughing awkwardly. Eve quickly explained to Brian that she had a similar deal to the one he had back when he had been in Miami. She had to go under, help take Owen down and, in return, she'd get a full pardon and amnesty. "You actually think I'd try to hurt you, Bri? You're my brother." She punched his arm affectionately and he pulled her into a tight hug with a relieved sigh.

"Sorry I didn't trust you," he whispered in her ear.

"I'm sure I'll forgive you eventually, Barstow," she teased. "Slick move with the chip, by the way," she complimented, referring to the chip he'd knocked off his car that first night. Brian shrugged modestly, but he was grinning like an idiot.

Pulling away, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they walked over to the crew. Tej bumped his fist with hers and Dom pulled her into a hug, an understanding passing between them. Eve realized that they did that a lot, had silent understandings; the pair simply didn't need words to get their points across with the other. Maybe they were just on the same wavelength. Over Dom's shoulder, she spotted Letty and nodded, shrugged, an unspoken apology; the other woman nodded back, her silent forgiveness. Eve approached Rome who stumbled about an apology and Eve grinned, faking like she was going to punch him in the stomach. The bigger man jumped back and held his hand up in defense, making Eve and Brian laugh, the others chuckling at his fright. Eve held out her hand to Rome, who hesitantly reached out and took her own. When he realized she wasn't going to attack, he grinned and shook her hand. Walking away from the group, Eve wandered over to where Han had been sitting. He was the last on her list of reunions so she sat down beside him, neither of them looking at the other.

"I knew you were pulling you punches," he commented lightly. Eve chuckled under her breath and nodded. "And you didn't try to kill me on the highway."

Looking down at her hands, she replied, "I may hate you, Han, but not enough to kill you. Beat you senseless? Yeah." The two shared a laugh at that and she shook her head. "But not kill you."

"That's good to know." Han looked at her and smiled, hand rubbing up and down her back. Eve ducked her head and rose to her feet, quickly moving away from him. Just because she didn't want to kill him, didn't mean that the past was forgiven.

"Hey, Toretto!" Hobbs called out and the group turned around to see him walking over, pulling a cuffed Owen with him. "You need to hear this," he told him seriously. The group gathered around in a circle around Owen, Denlinger and Adolfson, all still cuffed and surrounded by guards.

"You guys really think you've won," Owen mocked. "This code you live by, it's the very reason why you weren't even in the game." Looking at Dom, he stated, "I told you _exactly_ what I was going to do if you didn't walk away, Toretto. But you didn't listen. I told you, I could reach out and break you _whenever_ I want. And I have." Smiling, he looked at Brian and said, "Maybe you should call Mia." Brian and Dom exchanged a startled look and Brian pulled out his cell phone, dialing his girlfriend's number.

Terrified, Eve questioned, "Owen, what the hell did you do?"

"Mia?" A split second later, Brian lunged at Owen and punched him. Before he could get another hit in, the guards pushed him away. Eve, Rome and Tej ran up and restrained him, pulling him back as he grunted and struggled to kill the other man. Owen spit out a bit of blood and straightened his posture.

With a light chuckle, he told all of them, "So this is how it's gonna go down. You're gonna cut me loose from these cuffs, you're gonna hand me the chip, I'm gonna walk out of here and you're not gonna follow." The head of the base looked at him and told him he must be joking. "Look at his face." Owen walked over to Dom, standing toe to toe with him. "Ask _him_ if I'm joking."

"_One_ hostage does _not_ outweigh the threat to _millions_," the base leader insisted. "I'm sorry, but this changes nothing." Hobbs pulled his gun out and aimed it at his head, causing all the guards around to aim their guns at him, including Bilkins and Stasiak.

"It changes everything. You tell your men to stand down." The leader immediately did so and all the guards lowered their guns. Bilkins lowered his as well and, reluctantly, Stasiak followed his example. "Toretto, I need you to know, the moment we let him walk out that door, with that chip, words like "amnesty" and "pardon" walk out with him." Bilkins looked at Eve and nodded, signaling that the same went for her.

Dom looked at him and responded, "Those words went out the day we were born." Owen, Denlinger and Adolfson were quickly released by Riley. While the other men headed for the door, Owen grabbed the chip with a grin. On his way out the door, he paused and looked back at the group.

"Coming, babe?" he called. Brian, Han and the others looked to Eve. Arms crossed, she stared him down with a conflicted frown on her face. Despite his being a terrorist, she really did like him. Owen had his merits, not that the week was a prime example of that, but he did and he was a lot of fun. Eve ducked her head and sighed. There was no way she could go with him, not if she wanted to give up her family and freedom.

"Of course." Everyone's eyes whipped over to Riley, who was grinning deviously. "I wouldn't miss it for the world." Riley sauntered over to Owen and he wrapped his arm around her waist. Eve clenched her fists at her side, her face morphing from perfectly calm to unassailable rage. There was no way this was happening to her a _second_ time.

"Like I said, you were never in the game." The pair walked out of the base and Owen warned over his shoulder, "I see you on the horizon? I make the call and the girl's dead." The moment the man was out of sight, Eve shouted and punched the car beside her.

"Tej," Brian called out frantically.

"Already on it!" The circuit man had his hands flying across a keyboard. When he finished his handy work, he turned to others and told them, "I just jammed every signal up and down the spectrum." Guns were being passed out, locked and loaded. Rome passed Dom a shot gun and the ex-con called out for everyone to move.

"I'm coming with you," Letty told them as Eve stole Stasiak's hand gun.

"Me, too," she announced.

"Trudeau—"

"Sir," she cut off, staring at Bilkins desperately, "I am doing this."

"Hell hath no fury, baby girl," Rome commented, nodding in approval.

"Don't you forget it," she warned, cocking the gun

"Trust me, I won't. You got a mean swing, baby girl."

Bilkins informed the others that they had him and Stasiak as backup, Eve taking the latter's gun off his hands; she needed it more anyway. Everyone took off to their issued '05 BMW's. Eve wanted to go with Brian and Dom but they already had Letty with them. Rome and Tej took off with Hobbs, Bilkins and Stasiak stayed behind to keep the base under control, and that left Han alone. As much as she didn't want to go with him, there was no way she was could, in good conscience, let them man go out there on his own. Reluctantly, she ran over and hopped into the passenger side. Han smirked at her while she rolled her eyes, gesturing for him to get a move on. The trio of cars sped out of the base after Owen, wondering just where the hell he was going to go. After all, he was traveling down an airstrip that was eventually going to run out. Not to mention, he was on an Army base and trapped. A huge gust of wind and the sound of a roaring engine overhead drew their attention as both Han and Eve leaned forward to look up and out of the windshield.

"Did you know about this?" Han asked as the jumbo carrier plane flew overhead and landed on the tarmac.

"No. I thought we were supposed to get away in the tank," she answered bitterly and scoffed, shaking her head. Just how much had Owen kept from her? "That's gotta be Vegh and Klaus. They disappeared the day before yesterday. He told me they were taking care of something for him."

"Mia," Han realized and she nodded solemnly.

Eve looked over at him and stated, "If he gets on that plane and takes off, Mia is as good as dead."

"He's _not_ getting away," he promised. Ahead of them, they saw the center car drive up the ramp and into the back of the plane. That was Owen and Riley for certain. To their left, Dom sped ahead of everyone else and knocked the two jeeps being driven by Adolfson and Denlinger out the way. The moment they were moved, he sped up the ramp and out of sight. Dom, Brian and Letty were inside, which was enough for Eve; Mia was going to be okay. Looking around the car, Eve spotted what looked like a miniature harpoon gun laying in the backseat. Further inspection saw truck had prongs on it to attach the cables on the gun. When she picked it up and pulled it onto her lap, Han explained, "Tej's design. Based off that Firuz guy. He reversed the gears, torqued the motor and added a tank of NOS to the back. We all got one." Eve slipped off the metal cap on the back of the gun and whistled at the site of the can of nitrous oxide.

"Sweet deal. Get us under wing," Eve told him and he looked at her like she was crazy as she climbed into the back seat. She rolled down the window, climbed out, and attached the cables like so. The moment she was back inside and in the front seat, Han grabbed her arm.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"If I can get to that flap, maybe I can keep it from taking off." Reluctantly, he nodded and shifted gears, pulling up under the wing like she wanted. Hopefully, the others would get the message and do the same.

"Be careful," he warned her.

"Ride or die, remember?" she stated, strapping on her seat belt as an anchor.

"Ride or die," he returned solemnly.

Eve rolled down the automatic window and eased herself outside. It had been awhile since she did any sharpshooting, she was a little rusty, but she was certain she could do this. Sitting on the door, using her elbow resting on the roof to balance herself out, she raised the NOS gun up at the wing and took aim. Finger on the trigger, she focused hard on her tiny target. Just as she was about to pull, the car jerked and set her off target. But it was too late. The surprise of the another car jolting them from behind caused her to pull the trigger with a curse and sent the cable flying. The cable may not have gone where she wanted it to, but the plane was tethered to their car regardless. Cursing, Eve quickly slid herself back inside the car and looked over her shoulder. Out the rear window, she could make out Adolfson as the one who bumped them in his Range Rover.

A moment later, he pulled away and sped up beside them with a gun aimed through his window. Han jerked the wheel to the right and hit him, causing him to swerve and even sent his gun flying out the window. Between them the cable whipped around as Adolfson slammed into them. Somehow, someway, when he rammed into their car, he became stuck. To make matters worse, the plane started to take off and the back end of both cars were dangling in the air. This was definitely not good. While Han tried to maintain control over the car, Eve looked over and saw Adolfson crawling out of his window. He kicked at Eve, sending her careening into Han, before his reached in and wrapped his arm around her throat. Eve screamed in pain as he forcibly dragged her out of the car through the window. The moment her feet were on the edge of the window and she was balanced, Eve sent her head flying back into Adolfson's. He shouted in pain and tossed her to the side, sending a jolt of fear through her before she remembered that the combined cars protected her from crashing and dying on the tarmac.

Struggling against the wind and the rocking of the cars, Eve got to her feet to face Adolfson and was met with a punch to her face. She yelped in shock, in pain, as he cursed her for being a traitor and hit her again. A scrapping down tore through the air and she held up her arm as he tried to hit her once more. She blocked his punch and hit him right back before grabbing his head with both hands and slamming it into Han's car. Adolfson recovered quickly, however, and kicked her in the stomach. Groaning, Eve braced herself on his car and flipping herself over his head as she kicked him square in the face. Unfortunately for her, she overshot her jump and her grip slipped over the edge of his truck. Just as Eve thought she was going to fall to the tarmac and die, hands sliding over the smooth edge of the car, two hands reached out and grabbed her own. Looking up, Eve cried in relief at the sight of Han.

"I got you," he swore, tightly gripping her hands. Eve smiled at him and nodded but the moment of relief faded as Adolfson came into view. Eyes wide with fear, she looked into Han's and frantically slipped one of her hands free. Reaching behind her, Eve pulled out the gun she stole from Stasiak and took aim. For a moment, Han thought she was going to shoot him, that she was double-crossing them, and his eyes widened. She fired off three shots and Han glanced over to see Adolfson, shot and bloody but still alive. "Do you trust me?" he shouted over the wind.

Eve looked at him, hesitant, but nodded. "Yes!" Han kissed her knuckles before swinging her hard and letting her go. Eve flew through the air for a matter of seconds before she landed on his car. She reached out and caught the cable before she slid off the edge and, with a lot of groaning and screaming, she pulled herself back up to stand between the two cars. She looked up and saw Han laying a supreme beat down to Adolfson. She'd never seen him so aggressive before, not in all the years she'd known him. The car jerked suddenly and Eve fell down, dropping the gun and one of her legs sliding down into the window she'd been pulled from. Grappling with the roof, she pulled herself back up and her eyes widened. "Behind you!" she warned.

Their plan was working; they had the flaps under their control and they were pulling the plane down. Han looked behind him, paling at the sight of the turbine engine so close to him. He hit the other man once more before grabbing him around his waist and hoisted him up, sending him head first into the turbine. Not only were the turbine's closer, but the cable's hold on Adolfson's car were loosened. Eve screamed as the turbine exploded and ducked inside the car, grabbing a hold of the wheel as it jerked around, all four wheels solidly back on the ground. Outside, Han quickly jumped away and landed on the roof of his car, sliding back into the drivers seat with ease. Once he had a hand on the wheel, he slammed the open door shut and shifted the gears. Hearts pounding, the panting pair looked at one another and let out a sigh of relief. Eve reached over to Han's gear hand and placed her own over it, grip tight. Han didn't let go of the stick, but he did let his thumb slip up and caress her pinky.

A loud crash sounded and Eve looked over her shoulder, spying the right side of the plane crashing to the tarmac behind them. The turbine was ablaze as it skidded along the ground before it exploded. A moment later, the left wing went down and caught fire. Soon enough, the entire plane itself went crashing to the ground and was ablaze. A car suddenly propelled out of the nose of the plane and crashed to the ground, flipping multiple times before it disappeared from sight. Han stopped the car a few miles away from the fiery wreck with the two other cars and both of them scrambled out, staring at the inferno behind them. Eve looked over and saw Brian with Mia – she silently thanked whatever higher power there was that she was safe – and saw Letty with Rome, Tej and Hobbs. But no Dom. Eve looked back the wreck and realized just who had been in that car and buried her face in her hands.

Han wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, turning both of them away from the wreck. She cried as the realization hit her that Dom was dead. He wasn't supposed to die! He was Dominic fucking Toretto! A moment passed and Han let her go, telling her to look. Eve whipped around and saw Letty running towards the wreck. At first, Eve thought she was insane and made to go after her, but then she saw what she was running towards. Dom, he'd made it. He was alive. Eve laughed and clapped her hands over her mouth, happy tears running down her face. That man must have nine lives, she thought bemusedly. Han wrapped an arm around her waist and held her against his side. Eve glanced up at him before looking back at Letty and Dom, the pair embracing one another.

"You know, this doesn't change anything." Han looked at Eve as she stared at the fiery wreck, as if in a trance, until she suddenly turned her gaze to him. "You're still a bastard and I never want to see you again."

Han smirked and replied, "But you still love me." She didn't answer. She knew, and he probably knew as well, that anything she said in retaliation would be a lie. Hell, even the part about never wanting to see him was a lie. She'd missed him, although it killed her to admit it.

"Eve," Mia breathed. Eve spun around and smiled as the other woman pulled her into a hug.

"Are you okay?" she questioned, pulling back to check her over. "I didn't know, Mia. I swear, I didn't know. I never would've let him hurt you!"

"I know, I know," she assured her and hugged her once more. Eve relaxed against her, hugging her tight. "I'm just happy your safe."

"Ditto," she replied. Brian grinned at her and pulled her close, the three of them in a group hug.

"So, this is worth billions, huh?" The trio pulled away and looked over at Dom. His arms were wrapped around Letty as he passed the briefcase with the chip over to Hobbs. Eve smiled, stunned, and shook her head in disbelief. How the hell did he manage that?

"Yes, it is." Hobbs took the case with a smile. "Name your price, Dom." The career criminal looked down at Letty before looking over at his baby sister and the ex-feds.

"1327," he answered easily. Mia grinned and kissed Brian as Eve shook her head and laughed, giving Dom a thumb's up. Rome and Tej may not have understood the significance of the number, maybe Han didn't either, but she did. It looked like they were _finally _going home.

P.S.: Nine pages total.


End file.
